Uncork Capital, originally founded as SoftTech VC in 2004 by Jeff Clavier, was one of the first dedicated seed-stage venture firms in Silicon Valley, and its 2007 fund is often cited as one of the first to be labeled a 'micro-VC.' Clavier, who immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 after serving as CTO of a French fintech startup acquired by Reuters, built the firm around being the first substantial check and the longest relationship a founding team has. That approach backed SendGrid as a seed investor years before its 2017 IPO and 2019 acquisition by Twilio, along with Fitbit, Eventbrite, Postmates, and Poshmark. The firm is now led by Managing Partner Andy McLoughlin, with Clavier continuing as Founding Partner.
SendGrid's 2017 IPO, followed by its 2019 acquisition by Twilio - Uncork backed the email infrastructure company as a seed investor years before either milestone