Uncork Capital

In 2004, Jean-François Clavier planted a flag in Silicon Valley with a clear premise: the earliest checks, written with conviction, create asymmetric outcomes. He called the firm SoftTech VC. By 2017, the name evolved to Uncork Capital, but the strategy did not. The mandate was simple and hard to execute: lead at seed, earn meaningful ownership, and stay close enough to the builder to matter when things break or bend. In a noisy market, that consistency became signal.

In May 2025, Uncork closed $300M across Uncork VIII and Uncork Plus IV. $225M targets seed-stage companies. $75M fuels follow-on rounds for the firms that start to separate from the pack. At the same time, Andy McLoughlin stepped into the role of sole Managing Partner, while founder Jean-François Clavier shifted from day-to-day management to founder and investing partner. The transition was deliberate, not cosmetic. McLoughlin built Huddle before he built a portfolio, and that operator’s scar tissue shows up in how Uncork evaluates founders, product velocity, and early go-to-market tension.

The investment model is disciplined by design. Roughly 35 seed leads per fund. Larger initial checks. Real ownership from day one. The Plus funds allow Uncork to double down without losing alignment. That structure has powered early positions in Fitbit, Eventbrite, SendGrid, and Postmates, and continues today with LaunchDarkly, Human Interest, Shippo, Front, ClassDojo, Carrot Fertility, Hallow, Loft Orbital, and GPTZero. These are not trend chases. They are infrastructure bets, companies that become load-bearing beams inside the modern startup ecosystem.

Uncork’s focus skews toward B2B software, developer tools, infrastructure, fintech rails, and marketplaces with defensible network effects. The throughline is leverage. If a product helps other companies operate with more precision, more speed, or more compliance, it fits the lens. Over $8B in follow-on capital raised by portfolio companies reinforces that early conviction, when paired with structured support, compounds.

Support is not a slogan here. Adriana Roche leads talent. Ashley Cravens runs operations and platform. Joyce oversees finance. Tilly McLain cultivates community. This internal architecture turns seed capital into execution support: hiring strategy, leadership recruitment, peer networks, and preparation for institutional scale. In a fragile startup ecosystem, that scaffolding often separates durable companies from cautionary tales.

Uncork invests primarily in the United States, anchored in the Bay Area but tracking founders wherever technical depth meets market clarity. The firm’s longevity since 2004 gives it pattern recognition across multiple cycles, from consumer platforms to SaaS infrastructure to AI-adjacent tools now shaping enterprise workflows. It is not chasing headlines. It is underwriting fundamentals.

For founders building at seed, Uncork represents concentrated conviction and long memory. For operators, the portfolio offers entry points into companies constructing the plumbing of the next decade. The Uncork job board and talent network provide direct access to roles across engineering, product, and go-to-market inside one of the most enduring franchises in the startup ecosystem.

Follow this firm. Study their founders. Track their plays.