Fundraising Fox
John Cowgill
InvestorPartner at Costanoa Ventures · Board director at Empirical Security · Board director at RunReveal · Board director at Muon Space
San Francisco, California
Writes $2M – $5M checks · typically $3.5M
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About
John Cowgill is a Partner at Costanoa Ventures who has worked in venture capital since 2016, following an earlier career in tech startups and consulting. After joining Costanoa, he built out the firm's cybersecurity practice and has partnered with one to two cybersecurity companies per year, typically at or near formation. His current investment interests include applied AI, agent-native incident response and recovery, and permission and governance for AI.
Contact· self-published, not guessed
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurity
Board director at Empirical Security
Intro paths
In turn, John can intro founders to Empirical Security's investors below.
Empirical Security's investors · 5
Co-founders at Empirical Security
Board director at RunReveal
Intro paths
In turn, John can intro founders to RunReveal's investors below.
RunReveal's investors · 4
Co-founders at RunReveal
Board director at Muon Space
Intro paths
In turn, John can intro founders to Muon Space's investors below.
Muon Space's investors · 19
Co-founders at Muon Space
Experience
- Costanoa VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2016 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Manifold SecurityBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- Empirical SecurityBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- detections.aiBoard Membercurrent2024 — present
- RunRevealBoard Membercurrent2023 — present
- Muon SpaceBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
- Kepler Communications Inc.Board Membercurrent2019 — present
- CyberhavenBoard Membercurrent2018 — present
- FOSSABoard Membercurrent2019 — present
- DefiniteBoard Membercurrent2022 — present
- Locket LabsSeed Investorcurrent2022 — present
- Smile IdentityBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
- VividlyBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
- ZentistBoard Membercurrent2020 — present
- LeapBoard Membercurrent2018 — present
- Parallel DomainBoard Membercurrent2018 — present
- RoadsterBoard Observer2017 — 2021
- McKinsey & CompanyConsultant2013 — 2016Greater Chicago Area
- TechweekBusiness Operations2013 — 2014Chicago
- Clarity ConsultingSummer Associate2012Chicago
Skills & more
+4 more
Public SpeakingStrategic PlanningTeamworkStrategyFrom John's professional profile.
Deals · 5
Empirical SecurityBoard seat
via Costanoa Ventures · filed Aug 2026 · $25M raise
Leap Services, Inc.Board seat
via Costanoa Ventures · filed Mar 2026 · $15M raise
VividlyBoard seat
via Costanoa Ventures · filed Jan 2025 · $31.5M raise
RunRevealBoard seat
via Costanoa Ventures · filed Mar 2023 · $2.5M raise
Muon SpaceBoard seat
via Costanoa Ventures · filed Jun 2022 · $25M raise
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Other disclosed investments
Board seats
Investor
AppOmniCyberhavenDefinitedweva.comFossaKepler CommunicationsLeapManifoldNovelNumaParallel DomainRerunSmile IDZentist
Sources: SEC Form D filings · curated public sources.
Colleagues at Costanoa Ventures
Network3
Investors connected to John in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is John Cowgill?
- John Cowgill is a Partner at Costanoa Ventures who has worked in venture capital since 2016, following an earlier career in tech startups and consulting. After joining Costanoa, he built out the firm's cybersecurity practice and has partnered with one to two cybersecurity companies per year, typically at or near formation. His current investment interests include applied AI, agent-native incident response and recovery, and permission and governance for AI.
- Where does John Cowgill work?
- John Cowgill is Partner at Costanoa Ventures and Board director at Empirical Security and Board director at RunReveal and Board director at Muon Space.
- What does John Cowgill invest in?
- John Cowgill invests in AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity.
- What check size does John Cowgill write?
- John Cowgill typically writes checks of $2M – $5M.
- What boards does John Cowgill sit on?
- John Cowgill holds tracked board seats at Empirical Security, Fossa, Leap Services, Inc., Muon Space, RunReveal, Vividly.
- What companies has John Cowgill invested in?
- Investments tracked here include AppOmni, Cyberhaven, Definite, dweva.com, Empirical Security, Fossa, Kepler Communications, Leap, Manifold, Muon Space, Novel, Numa, and 6 more.
- Where did John Cowgill go to school?
- John Cowgill studied at Northwestern University (B.S., Summa Cum Laude, Learning and Organizational Change).
Same school
Also attended Northwestern University777
+ 771 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Manifold Security2
Also worked at Empirical Security1
Also worked at detections.ai1
Also worked at Kepler Communications Inc.9
+ 3 more