Fundraising Fox

Tom Preston-Werner

Investor

Founder & Managing Partner, Preston-Werner Ventures; CEO, 180 Studios at Preston-Werner Ventures

San Francisco Bay Area

Writes $100K – $5M checks · typically $1.5M

Find your path to Tom

67 people in our graph share verified history with Tom — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Lorenzo ThioneunlockedTom: together at Powerset, Inc. (2007–2008)
Tom: together at ACTIVE Network
Tom: together at Powerset, Inc.
Tom: together at GitHub

About

Tom Preston-Werner is an entrepreneur and investor who co-founded and led GitHub as CEO until its acquisition by Microsoft for $7.5 billion. Beyond GitHub, he created foundational developer tools including Jekyll, Semantic Versioning, and TOML. After a decade of angel investing in over 175 startups, he founded Preston-Werner Ventures to back early-stage software and AI-driven companies.

Contact· published on Tom's own website

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Experience

  1. PWV (Preston-Werner Ventures)Cofounder/GPcurrent2019 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. 128 CollectiveBoard Membercurrent2019 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
  3. NetlifyBoard Member2020 — 2024San Francisco, California, United States
  4. ChatterbugCofounder2015 — 2019San Francisco & Berlin
  5. CodestarterCofounder & Strategic Advisor2014 — 2015San Francisco Bay Area
  6. GitHubCofounder (CTO, CEO)2008 — 2014San Francisco, CA
  7. Powerset, Inc.Software Developer2007 — 2008San Francisco, CA
  8. The Active Network, Inc.Software Developer2006 — 2007San Diego, CA

Skills & more

Ruby21Ruby on Rails11jQuery2JavaScript5Git19HTML 51Open Source3MySQLAngel InvestingSoftware Development5Programming1Agile Methodologies2
+3 moreTest Driven DevelopmentWeb DevelopmentWeb Applications

From Tom's professional profile.

Investments

Per the firm's website.

Colleagues at Preston-Werner Ventures

David Price
Cofounder & General Partner at Preston-Werner Ventures
David Thyresson
Cofounder & General Partner at Preston-Werner Ventures
Nina Song
Executive Assistant at Preston-Werner Ventures

Network9

Alex ChungScout
Venture Partner at Curious Capital
Ameya UpadhyayScout
General Partner at Flourish Ventures
Amrit SaxenaScout
CEO at SaxeCap Advisors
AngelaScout
General Partner at Version One Ventures
Daniel SanchezScout
Venture Partner at Nauta Capital
David MyttonScout
Angel
Efayomi CarrScout
Investment Partner at Flourish Ventures
Jason GardnerScout
Investor at Marqeta
Teymour Boutros-GaliScout
Managing Partner at Bold Capital Partners

Investors connected to Tom in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tom Preston-Werner?
Tom Preston-Werner is an entrepreneur and investor who co-founded and led GitHub as CEO until its acquisition by Microsoft for $7.5 billion. Beyond GitHub, he created foundational developer tools including Jekyll, Semantic Versioning, and TOML. After a decade of angel investing in over 175 startups, he founded Preston-Werner Ventures to back early-stage software and AI-driven companies.
Where does Tom Preston-Werner work?
Tom Preston-Werner is Founder & Managing Partner, Preston-Werner Ventures; CEO, 180 Studios at Preston-Werner Ventures.
What does Tom Preston-Werner invest in?
Tom Preston-Werner invests in AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, SaaS.
What check size does Tom Preston-Werner write?
Tom Preston-Werner typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.
What companies has Tom Preston-Werner invested in?
Investments tracked here include Cursor, Netlify, PlanetScale, Retool, Snyk, Stripe, Supabase.
Where did Tom Preston-Werner go to school?
Tom Preston-Werner studied at Harvey Mudd College (Two years before dropping out, CS); Dubuque Senior High School.

Same school

Also attended Harvey Mudd College49

Erik StraserPartner at ClearSkyHo NamManaging Director at Altos VenturesJulia PuzzoAssociate at Fika VenturesJon SobergCEO and Managing Partner at MS&AD VenturesBen NahirPartner at Elevate CapitalShahril IbrahimPartner at The Hive Southeast Asia

+ 43 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Netlify17

Mamoon HamidPartner at Kleiner PerkinsZack UrlockerInvestor at Index VenturesKelly GoetschPresident, Pipe17 at Mu VenturesNadav EylathManaging Partner at ATINCMatt MurphyPartner at Menlo VenturesMarcus BraggInvestor at Ballistic Ventures

+ 11 more

Also worked at Chatterbug1

Will TaylorFounder/CTO at Aklimate

Also worked at GitHub38

Nat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGErica BresciaManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesGrey BakerGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorEric LiawInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Tom LoverroInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)James LeeVP of Finance & Operations at Asymmetric Capital Partners

+ 32 more

Also worked at Powerset, Inc.6

Lorenzo ThioneGeneral Partner at GaingelsScott BanisterVenture Partner at Long Journey VenturesBarney PellVenture Partner at Radical VenturesJohn LeFounder at StatwingJonathan SiddharthFounder at TuringChris Van PeltExecutive Officer, Director at Weights & Biases