About
Clayton Petty is a Partner at Gradient, where he invests in AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and vertical software companies. Before joining Gradient, he led teams at McKinsey & Company across their Technology and Investing practices, helping founders and growth investors scale cybersecurity, infrastructure, and vertical software businesses, and working with operators on product launches and enterprise go-to-market. He started his career as a software engineer at Microsoft and Expedia. He was promoted to Partner at Gradient in July 2025 and writes frequently on topics such as agent authentication, enterprise resilience, and AI-native backup and disaster recovery.
Contact· published on Clayton's own website
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Beyond investing
- Education
- Studied computer science at Texas A&M.
- Awards
- Was promoted to Partner at Gradient in July 2025.
- Hobbies
- Enjoys traveling to Formula 1 races.
From Clayton's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- GradientPartnercurrent2025 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- GradientInvestor2023 — 2025San Francisco, California, United States
- McKinsey & CompanyEngagement Manager2020 — 2022San Francisco & New York
- McKinsey & CompanyBusiness Analyst2018 — 2020Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
- ICONIQ CapitalInvestor2017San Francisco Bay Area
- MicrosoftSoftware Engineer2016Redmond, WA
- Expedia GroupSoftware Engineer2015Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area
Skills & more
Computer Science7Programming6Web Development5Customer Service2Microsoft Office3Node.js4JavaScript3C++5HTML4Java3C2Microsoft Excel1
+4 more
PowerPointMicrosoft WordLeadershipPublic SpeakingLanguages English
From Clayton's professional profile.
Investments
Per the firm's website.
Colleagues at Gradient Ventures
Anabela Tavares
Management Accountant at EMV Capital
Andrew Brackin
Partner at Gradient investing across vertical AI, healthcare, and the application layer
Darian Shirazi
Investor, entrepreneur, and Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Denise Teng
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Devon Buford
Operations Manager at Gradient Ventures
Donald Harrison
Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Erin Drooks
Head of Talent at Gradient Ventures
Eylul Kayin
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Network7
Anna PattersonScout
Founder and Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Darian ShiraziScout
Investor, entrepreneur, and Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Kyle DuffyScout
Operating Partner at Gradient who helps early-stage founders go from 0 to 1
Zach Bratun-GlennonScout
General Partner at Gradient Ventures
Andrew Brackin
Partner at Gradient investing across vertical AI, healthcare, and the application layer
Donald Harrison
Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures
Wen-Wen Lam
Partner at Gradient Ventures
Investors connected to Clayton in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Clayton Petty?
- Clayton Petty is a Partner at Gradient, where he invests in AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and vertical software companies. Before joining Gradient, he led teams at McKinsey & Company across their Technology and Investing practices, helping founders and growth investors scale cybersecurity, infrastructure, and vertical software businesses, and working with operators on product launches and enterprise go-to-market. He started his career as a software engineer at Microsoft and Expedia. He was promoted to Partner at Gradient in July 2025 and writes frequently on topics such as agent authentication, enterprise resilience, and AI-native backup and disaster recovery.
- Where does Clayton Petty work?
- Clayton Petty is Partner at Gradient Ventures.
- What does Clayton Petty invest in?
- Clayton Petty invests in AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, SaaS.
- What companies has Clayton Petty invested in?
- Investments tracked here include BackOps, Infisical, Layers, Quantro, Stack AI, Tamarack.
- Where did Clayton Petty go to school?
- Clayton Petty studied at Texas A&M University (Bachelor of Science, Computer Science).
- What awards has Clayton Petty received?
- Was promoted to Partner at Gradient in July 2025.
Same school
Also attended Texas A&M University192
Kanu GulatiInvestor at Khosla VenturesNathaniel HardingManaging Partner at Cortado VenturesJackie PfisterChief Operating Officer at Mercury FundLisa RobertsChief Product Officer at Mercury FundBrent KeltonPartner & Texas Leader at Moneta VenturesClinton BybeeCo-founder & Managing Director, Emeritus at ARCH Venture Partners
+ 186 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Gradient18
Katy EngleInvestor at Index VenturesLauren IllovskyTalent Partner at CapitalGMuzzammil (MZ) ZaveriPartner at Audacious Ventures backing ambitious early-stage foundersAnabela TavaresManagement Accountant at EMV CapitalDarian ShiraziInvestor, entrepreneur, and Managing Partner at Gradient VenturesZach Bratun-GlennonGeneral Partner at Gradient Ventures
+ 12 more
Also worked at McKinsey & Company1,879
Elad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalJim BreyerFounder & CEO of Breyer CapitalAnn Miura-KoCo-founding Partner at FloodgateJeremy LiewPartner at Lightspeed Venture PartnersMike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesJeremy LevinePartner at Bessemer Venture Partners
+ 1,873 more
Also worked at ICONIQ Capital40
Adil BhatiaPrincipal at Redpoint VenturesRanim SelimExecutive Assistant at Lerer HippeauSophie NguyenInvestor at CapitalGAlex TranInvestor at CapitalGDivyansh SaksenaAnalyst at Congruent VenturesBrogan PerrelliVP of Finance and Operations at Westlake Village BioPartners
+ 34 more
Also worked at Microsoft1,278
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates FoundationMike KriegerCo-founder of Instagram; Chief Product Officer at Anthropic
+ 1,272 more