Tom Preston-Werner is the billionaire co-founder of GitHub and a defining figure in open-source software, having created SemVer, TOML, and Jekyll. Now a General Partner at Preston-Werner Ventures (PWV), he focuses on "founder-first" investing. In early 2026, he launched PWV Fund I, a $100M vehicle to lead pre-seed and seed rounds for AI and software startups. A signatory of the Giving Pledge, he and his wife Theresa manage the Preston Werner Foundation, which supports climate resilience and global justice. Based in San Francisco, he remains a key mentor in the developer community, leveraging his experience to help builders navigate the ethical and technical challenges of the AI era.

Ron Conway, founder of SV Angel, is one of Silicon Valley’s most influential early-stage investors, known for backing some of the most successful technology companies of the modern era. Often called the “Godfather of Silicon Valley,” Conway made early investments in companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, and PayPal, building a legendary track record in startup finance. Beyond investing, he is a major civic force in San Francisco and California, actively shaping policy conversations around housing, homelessness, and technology’s role in society. Conway’s career reflects unmatched network power, founder access, and long-term influence in venture capital.

P. J. Hyett, cofounder of GitHub, helped create the platform that became the default home for modern software collaboration, reshaping how developers build, review, and ship code at global scale. As GitHub evolved from a developer tool into a foundational layer of the internet’s software stack, Hyett played a key role in its early product DNA and community-first growth, helping turn open-source momentum into a dominant enterprise platform. GitHub’s rise culminated in its landmark acquisition by Microsoft, cementing Hyett’s place among the entrepreneurs who defined the modern developer economy.

Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is one of Silicon Valley’s most influential architects, shaping both the early internet and the modern startup ecosystem. After creating Mosaic, the first widely adopted web browser, and helping launch Netscape, Andreessen turned to investing, backing industry-defining companies across software, crypto, AI, and consumer technology. Through Andreessen Horowitz, he helped institutionalize venture capital as a full-service platform, supporting founders with capital, talent, and strategic insight. Known for his bold technological manifestos and conviction in software’s transformative power, Andreessen remains a central voice in global innovation.

Chris Wanstrath is an American technology entrepreneur and co‑founder and former CEO of GitHub, the world’s leading software collaboration platform launched in 2008. Self‑taught and briefly enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, he grew GitHub from a side project to a global developer hub with millions of users, eventually selling it to Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion. He later founded Null Games in 2023 and co-launched the non‑profit Ladybird Browser Initiative in 2024