# John Cowgill

> John Cowgill is a General Partner at Costanoa Ventures, a Palo Alto-based early-stage venture firm with over $2 billion in assets under management. Promoted to GP in September 2024, he has spent nearly a decade building the firm's cybersecurity and space practices, backing category-defining companies like AppOmni, Cyberhaven, Muon Space, and Kepler Communications. A Northwestern University alumnus and former McKinsey consultant who describes himself as a 'wayward Kentuckian and theater school dropout,' Cowgill invests in Seed and Series A startups across applied AI, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, space, and B2B fintech—leading with a founder-first philosophy anchored in conviction, humility, and grit.

- **Role:** General Partner at Costanoa Ventures
- **Organizations:** Costanoa Ventures, McKinsey & Company, Techweek, Clarity Consulting
- **From:** Kentucky, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Learning and Organizational Change (Summa Cum Laude), concentration in Marketing and Economics; Integrated Marketing Certificate, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Promoted to General Partner at Costanoa Ventures in September 2024, Built Costanoa's cybersecurity and space investment practices from the ground up, Led investments in category-defining companies: AppOmni, Cyberhaven, Muon Space, Kepler Communications

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Summer Associate at Clarity Consulting
- **2013** — Business Development at Techweek, national tech conference series
- **2013-2016** — Consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising tech and consumer companies on strategy
- **2016** — Joined Costanoa Ventures as Associate
- **2017** — Led investment in Roadster (digital automotive commerce)
- **2018** — Led investments in Kepler Communications and Parallel Domain
- **2019** — Led investments in AppOmni (cloud security) and FOSSA (open source compliance)
- **2021-2023** — Led investments in Cyberhaven, Muon Space, Numa, RunReveal, and Definite
- **2024** — Promoted to General Partner at Costanoa Ventures; Costanoa closes $394M across Fund V ($275M) and Opportunity Fund III ($119M)
- **2025** — Led seed investment in Empirical Security ($12M round); continues to expand cybersecurity and defense tech portfolio

## Achievements

- Promoted to General Partner at Costanoa Ventures in September 2024
- Built Costanoa's cybersecurity and space investment practices from the ground up
- Led investments in category-defining companies: AppOmni, Cyberhaven, Muon Space, Kepler Communications
- Serves on boards of Empirical Security, detections.ai, RunReveal, Definite, and Muon Space
- Helped grow Costanoa's AUM to over $2 billion
- 34 investments on record across Seed through Series C
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Empirical Security, a Costanoa-backed cybersecurity AI firm in which Cowgill led the seed investment, announced a $12M seed round
- **2024-12** — Costanoa backed System Two Security, a GenAI cyber defense startup, with Cowgill involved in the deal
- **2024-09** — Promoted to General Partner at Costanoa Ventures as firm closes $394M in new funds (Fund V: $275M, Opportunity Fund III: $119M)

## Links

- Website: https://costanoa.vc/team/john-cowgill
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jcowgill
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/costanoavc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CostanoaVC

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-cowgill
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18