Announcing PWV Fund I: Built by Founders. Backing What’s Next.
PWV is raising a venture fund targeting $100M to lead pre-seed and seed rounds in today's most exciting software- and AI-driven companies.
Tom Preston-Werner
Cofounder & General Partner, Cofounder GitHub
Tom Preston-Werner is an entrepreneur, technologist, and investor who transformed how the world builds software. As the co-founder and former CEO of GitHub, he turned a simple idea, collaborating on code, into the global platform that powers nearly every digital product today.
Under his leadership, GitHub became the world's largest developer network and was acquired by Microsoft for $7.5B, one of the most influential acquisitions of its era.
Beyond GitHub, Tom created technologies that quietly support modern digital infrastructure: Jekyll, the engine behind millions of websites; Semantic Versioning (SemVer), the universal standard for software releases; and TOML, a configuration format adopted across industries.
His work shaped not only how software is built, but how innovation scales.
After more than a decade of angel investing in over 175 startups, including early checks in Stripe, Cursor, Netlify, Snyk, Supabase, PlanetScale, and Retool, Tom founded Preston-Werner Ventures (PWV™), an early-stage investment firm backing the next generation of software- and AI-driven companies. PWV is now raising a $100M fund to lead pre-seed and seed rounds for founders redefining what's possible with technology.
Together with partners David Price and David Thyresson (DT), Tom has built PWV into the venture firm they once wished existed:
Founders-First Values: providing hands-on guidance rooted in proven startup and operator experience
Community-Oriented: connecting more than 300+ portfolio founders through shared knowledge, mentorship, and events
Networked: Leveraging deep relationships with world-class investors and leaders to accelerate growth and follow-on funding due to the PWV ecosystem and credibility
In addition to his role at PWV, Tom serves as CEO of 180 Studios, leading its expansion into next-generation creative and production software powered by version control and automation systems for the global creative industry.
A signatory of The Giving Pledge, Tom and his wife are committed to advancing technology access, education, and climate resilience. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tom continues to mentor founders and builders, championing ideas that reimagine what's possible at the intersection of software, AI, and humanity.
Ideas start with founders. Founders start with PWV.
Learn more or apply.
For LP inquiries, contact investors@pwv.com
Articles by Tom Preston-Werner
AI Generated Image
The Startup Multiverse: Why Five Years Reveals the Winning Branch
GitHub Co-Founder Tom Preston-Werner on the 5-year rule, pivots, and finding the winning branch in the startup multiverse.