Andy McLoughlin

Managing Partner at Uncork Capital

Reviewed Updated Mar 26, 2026

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Managing Partner of Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC), a dedicated seed fund investing $750K-$2M in developer tools and infrastructure businesses. Founder operator background; portfolio skews heavily toward unsexy enterprise problems with security recurring as an implicit theme alongside recent AI-native acceleration.

Location San Francisco, CA
Check Size $750K-$2M
Last Verified Investment Mirai (Seed) — Feb 2026
Social @bandrew LinkedIn
Stage Focus
seed
Sector Focus
developer-tools enterprise saas security infrastructure ai

Background

Andy McLoughlin OBE is the Managing Partner of Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC), a seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco 12. He became sole Managing Partner in May 2025 when founder Jeff Clavier stepped back from day-to-day management 3.

McLoughlin was born and raised in the UK and holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Sheffield 4. In 2006, he co-founded Huddle, a London-headquartered enterprise collaboration platform that raised more than $80 million in venture funding and became one of Europe’s most awarded enterprise technology startups before its acquisition in 2017 12. At Huddle, he served as engineer, product lead, marketer, strategist, and US expansion lead 1.

Prior to joining Uncork (then SoftTech VC) as a Venture Partner in April 2015, McLoughlin was an active angel investor with a personal portfolio of more than 40 startups, including Intercom, Pipedrive (acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $1.5 billion), Calm, Postmates (acquired by Uber for $2.65 billion), Bugsnag, and Tray.io 124. He completed his Kauffman Fellowship (Class 22) at SoftTech VC under the mentorship of Jeff Clavier 4.

McLoughlin was awarded an OBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to UK business and technology leadership 14. He is a co-founder of Founders Pledge, a nonprofit promoting effective altruism among early-stage entrepreneurs, and a founding director and former chair of GBx, a network for British founders, investors, and executives in Silicon Valley 125.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what McLoughlin says publicly about his investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

McLoughlin focuses on seed-stage B2B software, specifically developer tools, software infrastructure, security, and applied AI 12. He has described his investment thesis as backing “seed-stage startups that help every business operate like the best companies in the world by productizing the business software and developer tools that tech-forward companies typically build internally” 1.

On sectors he avoids, McLoughlin has stated he does not invest in “consumer, traction-based thingies, science projects, advertising, games, bio, genomics” 6.

McLoughlin employs a “three-axes risk framework” evaluating companies across product, market, and founder dimensions 7. On vertical SaaS, he has described the evolution through waves: workflow software (1.0), workflow plus fintech (2.0), and workflow plus fintech plus AI (3.0), stating that the “next decade belongs to vertical AI builders” 8.

On fund strategy, McLoughlin has stated: “Through more than two decades — and multiple boom-and-bust cycles — we’ve consistently backed new ideas that became category-defining companies while backing bold founders at the earliest stages, when others hesitate” 3.

Inferred Thesis

The analysis below is based on 18 verified investments where McLoughlin is identified as the Uncork partner or board member, drawn from press announcements, Crunchbase data, and the Uncork Capital portfolio page 13679101112131415161718.

Sector concentration (based on 18 verified investments): - Developer tools / infrastructure: 7 of 18 (39%) — LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, Coder, Sym, Nuon, c/side, Mirai - Enterprise SaaS / B2B: 5 of 18 (28%) — Human Interest, Crossbeam, Mutiny, Wrapbook, Fountain - AI / applied AI: 3 of 18 (17%) — GPTZero, Focal Systems, Final Round AI - Fintech / vertical SaaS: 3 of 18 (17%) — Numeral, Shippo, MonetizeNow

Note: Some companies span multiple categories. Percentages reflect primary classification and sum to over 100%.

Key patterns:

  • Overwhelmingly seed-stage: All 18 verified investments were at the seed stage, consistent with Uncork’s positioning as a dedicated seed fund. McLoughlin’s typical check size is $750K-$2M with a target of $2M 67.

  • Developer-tools-heavy portfolio: The largest cluster is developer tools and infrastructure (39%), significantly exceeding his B2B SaaS allocation. This reflects McLoughlin’s technical background as a former startup co-founder and his stated preference for “unsexy” enterprise problems 1.

  • Security as a recurring theme: Multiple investments have a security component — c/side (browser-side security), Sym (security workflow platform), and Tailscale (networking/VPN). This pattern is not prominently featured in his stated thesis but appears consistently in the portfolio.

  • AI-native investments accelerating: Recent investments (GPTZero in 2023, c/side and Final Round AI in 2024, Mirai in 2026) show increasing AI-native focus, consistent with his stated belief in vertical AI builders 31418.

  • Co-lead model: McLoughlin frequently co-leads seed rounds rather than taking sole lead. Notable co-leads include Crossbeam with First Round Capital 13, Tailscale with Heavybit 11, GPTZero with Neo 15, and Sym with Mango Capital 17.

  • Board participation: McLoughlin takes board seats at portfolio companies, confirmed for Crossbeam 13. This suggests hands-on involvement beyond check-writing.

  • US-focused, San Francisco-heavy: Despite his British background, all verified Uncork investments are in US-based companies, with concentration in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • Follow-on conviction: Uncork has invested in every round Human Interest has raised since seed 3, and has followed on through Tailscale’s $160 million Series C 11. This suggests strong follow-on reserve utilization.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Sector Source
LaunchDarkly 2015 Seed Developer tools 9
Human Interest 2016 Seed Fintech / retirement 10
Shippo ~2016 Seed Logistics / shipping 21
Fountain 2017 Series A HR tech 12
Coder 2018 Seed Developer tools 19
Focal Systems ~2018 Early stage AI / retail 1
Mutiny 2018 Seed Marketing / B2B 16
Crossbeam 2019 Seed Data partnerships 13
Sym ~2020 Seed Security 17
Tailscale 2020 Seed Networking / security 11
Wrapbook 2020 Seed Fintech / payroll 20
GPTZero 2023 Seed AI detection 15
c/side 2024 Seed Cybersecurity 14
Nuon ~2024 Seed Cloud infrastructure 3
Numeral ~2024 Seed Fintech / tax 3
Final Round AI ~2024 Seed AI 3
Ivo ~2024 Seed AI / legal 3
Mirai 2026 Seed Edge computing 18

This table represents a subset of McLoughlin’s investments at Uncork. The firm has backed over 275 companies across all partners since 2004 3. McLoughlin’s personal angel portfolio of 40+ companies (including Intercom, Pipedrive, Calm, Postmates, Bugsnag, and Tray.io) is not included above 12.

In Their Own Words

“Through more than two decades — and multiple boom-and-bust cycles — we’ve consistently backed new ideas that became category-defining companies while backing bold founders at the earliest stages, when others hesitate.” — Andy McLoughlin, Uncork Capital press release, May 2025 3

“c/side is addressing client-side app security, one of the most challenging threats to digital organizations and a problem that has been largely overlooked until now. Their AI-driven solution not only identifies these threats but acts swiftly to neutralize them, ensuring robust client-side web security.” — Andy McLoughlin, c/side funding announcement, September 2024 14

“Companies that probably should have been fundraising this year are going to try to go out in 2024 or 2025, but there’s going to be more businesses raising than there is cash to go around.” — Andy McLoughlin, TechCrunch interview, July 2023 22

McLoughlin has described LaunchDarkly as his first end-to-end deal at SoftTech/Uncork and has noted watching co-founders Edith Harbaugh and John Kodumal build an early product into a business serving more than 20 billion feature flags per day 23.

On vertical SaaS investing, McLoughlin has stated: “The next decade belongs to vertical AI builders who understand that their wedge product is just the beginning” 8.

What Founders Say

Jeff Schneble, CEO of Human Interest, stated: “Uncork has proven to be the most supportive and helpful investor on our cap table.” He added: “Their ability to effectively communicate our vision and progress to potential investors has been instrumental in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in capital” 3.

A founder testimonial on McLoughlin’s LinkedIn profile describes him as “the best investor you can have on your side because of a unique combination: his vast network of connections on both sides of the Atlantic, his experience as a founder, his great ability to form an opinion about a market sector and follow it through with his investments and his calm, thoughtful and deliberate guidance for you in building a business.” The testimonial adds: “What truly sets Andy apart is his human compassion, genuine desire to help others in any capacity” 8.

A LaunchDarkly-affiliated founder stated that McLoughlin’s introductions assisted with their Series A fundraising and that he referred “our incredible VP Sales,” crediting his guidance and support as “invaluable” 8.

Connections

  • Board member, Crossbeam — joined the board at seed alongside First Round Capital 13
  • Co-founder, Founders Pledge — US Trustee of the nonprofit promoting effective altruism among entrepreneurs 15
  • Founding Director and former Chair, GBx — network for British tech entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in Silicon Valley 12
  • Kauffman Fellow, Class 22 — fellowship completed at SoftTech VC under Jeff Clavier’s mentorship 4
  • Frequent co-investor with First Round Capital — co-led Crossbeam seed 13
  • Frequent co-investor with Heavybit — co-led Tailscale seed 11

Sources

  1. Uncork Capital team page, “Andy McLoughlin,” accessed March 2026. https://uncorkcapital.com/team/andy-mcloughlin/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Andy McLoughlin personal website, accessed March 2026. https://www.andymcloughlin.co/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. PRNewswire, “Uncork Capital Raises $300 Million to Back the Next Generation of Category-Defining Companies,” May 1, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uncork-capital-raises-300-million-to-back-the-next-generation-of-category-defining-companies-302443713.html↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. Kauffman Fellows directory, “Andy McLoughlin,” accessed March 2026. https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/fellows/andy-mcloughlin↩↩↩↩↩

  5. Founders Pledge team page, “Andy McLoughlin,” accessed March 2026. https://www.founderspledge.com/meet-the-team/andy-mcloughlin↩↩

  6. Signal by NFX, “Andy McLoughlin’s Investing Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/andy-mcloughlin↩↩↩

  7. VCSheet, “Andy McLoughlin (Uncork Capital),” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/andy-mcloughlin↩↩↩

  8. Andy McLoughlin LinkedIn post on vertical SaaS, referenced via search results, accessed March 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andymcloughlin↩↩↩↩

  9. Crunchbase, “Seed Round - LaunchDarkly,” June 4, 2015, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/launchdarkly-seed–74cc96f5↩↩

  10. Crunchbase, “Seed Round - Human Interest,” February 24, 2016, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/humaninterest-seed–5cef3134↩↩

  11. FinSMEs, “Tailscale Raises $3M in Seed Funding,” April 2020, accessed March 2026. https://www.finsmes.com/2020/04/tailscale-raises-3m-in-seed-funding.html↩↩↩↩↩

  12. Tracxn, “Fountain - Funding Rounds & List of Investors,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/fountain/__UejmuWJ1L8GcyYMHI5jxxIHEEHo5B0PpCUhHTzajHg0/funding-and-investors↩↩

  13. VCNewsDaily, “Crossbeam Snares $3.35M Seed Round,” January 11, 2019, accessed March 2026. https://vcnewsdaily.com/crossbeam/venture-capital-funding/mdncccvhqr↩↩↩↩↩↩

  14. GlobeNewsWire, “c/side Raises $6M in Seed Funding to Thwart Costly Browser Supply Chain Attacks,” September 16, 2024. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/16/2946381/0/en/c-side-Raises-6M-in-Seed-Funding-to-Thwart-Costly-Browser-Supply-Chain-Attacks.html↩↩↩↩

  15. Fast Company, “GPTZero raised $3.5 million to check the internet for AI-created work,” May 2023, accessed March 2026. https://www.fastcompany.com/90892747/this-ai-detection-tool-raised-3-5-million-to-check-the-internet-for-computer-generated-work↩↩↩

  16. Crunchbase, “Seed Round - Mutiny,” August 22, 2018, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/mutinyhq-seed–dd83e4a7↩↩

  17. Virtual Strategy Magazine, “Sym Raises $9 Million in Series A Funding Round Led by Amplify Partners,” October 20, 2020, accessed March 2026. https://virtual-strategy.com/2020/10/20/sym-raises-9-million-in-series-a-funding-round-led-by-amplify-partners/↩↩↩

  18. Medium / Uncork Capital blog, “To the edge (again!) — welcoming Mirai to the Uncork portfolio,” February 2026, accessed March 2026. https://medium.com/uncorkcapital/to-the-edge-again-welcoming-mirai-to-the-uncork-portfolio-1bc19478d47↩↩↩

  19. Tracxn, “Coder - Funding Rounds & List of Investors,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/coder/__qv-IOsbYccUyunIbjn9wqxpwn2USYxtT-4KR9Vln06s/funding-and-investors↩

  20. dot.LA, “Wrapbook, Provider of Payroll for Productions, Unwraps $3.6 million in Seed Funding,” August 2020, accessed March 2026. https://dot.la/wrapbook-2647075209/wrapbook-provider-of-payroll-for-productions-unwraps-3-6-million-in-seed-funding↩

  21. Uncork Capital portfolio page, “Companies,” accessed March 2026. https://uncorkcapital.com/companies/↩

  22. TechCrunch, “Andy McLoughlin of Uncork Capital on the firm’s new funds, succession, and why next year could be a bloodbath (sorry, startups),” July 27, 2023, accessed March 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/27/andy-mcloughlin-of-uncork-capital-on-the-firms-new-funds-succession-and-why-next-year-could-be-a-bloodbath-for-many-startups-sorry-startups/↩

  23. Medium / Uncork Capital blog, “Congratulations to LaunchDarkly & welcoming Bigfinite to the portfolio,” accessed March 2026. https://medium.com/uncorkcapital/congratulations-to-launchdarkly-welcoming-bigfinite-to-the-portfolio-4227a6ef83e3↩

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