Uncork Capital

Uncork Capital -- founded in 2004 as SoftTech VC by Founding Partner Jeff Clavier and rebranded in 2017 -- is a prominent San Francisco Bay Area seed-stage venture capital firm widely regarded as one of the original institutional seed funds in Silicon Valley. The firm leads and co-leads seed rounds, typically investing $750,000 to $2 million with a target ownership of 10 to 15% at entry. Sector coverage spans SaaS, developer tooling, marketplaces, consumer services, fintech, space, and frontier technology. The leadership team is now led by Managing Partner Andy McLoughlin alongside partners Susan Liu, Tripp Jones, and Amy Saper, with Jeff Clavier continuing as Founding Partner. Uncork has grown across eight core funds and four breakout vehicles: early funds scaled from under $1 million to $15 million, $55 million, $85 million, and $100 million, followed by combined raises of $200 million and then $300 million in 2019 and $300 million again in May 2025 -- Uncork VIII at $225 million plus Uncork Plus IV at $75 million, aimed at backing roughly 35 new companies over three years. Across 260-plus investments the firm has produced 10 unicorns and major exits including Postmates (acquired by Uber in 2020), SendGrid (IPO 2017, acquired by Twilio in 2019), Eventbrite (IPO 2018), Poshmark (IPO 2021), and Fitbit. Active portfolio includes LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, Carrot Fertility, Loft Orbital, Hallow, Wrapbook, ClassDojo, Front, Human Interest, and Gamma, which became a unicorn in 2025. Uncork's twenty-year track record across multiple market cycles -- and its discipline in backing founders at the earliest stage with meaningful ownership -- has established it as one of the most consistent seed-stage performers in Silicon Valley.