Stuart McClure
About Stuart McClure
Stuart McClure is based in Orange, California. He is Chief Executive Officer of Qwiet AI, an application security company, and CEO of Wethos AI, which uses machine learning to measure team performance. He also founded NumberOne AI, an AI incubator announced in October 2022. Crunchbase dates his Qwiet role from August 2022 and his Wethos AI role from January 2023.
He started in security consulting. He was a senior manager at Ernst & Young, then in 1999 founded Foundstone, a security consulting and products company that McAfee acquired in 2004. He later served as Global CTO at McAfee/Intel. In 2012 he co-founded Cylance, which used machine learning for threat detection. He led it as CEO until BlackBerry acquired it in 2019 for a reported $1.5 billion. Crunchbase lists his title as President of BlackBerry Cylance after the sale. He is also lead author of the Hacking Exposed security book series.
He holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder, in psychology, philosophy and computer science according to The Conference Board. His own site says he has founded five startups. Crunchbase counts three companies founded, so the two figures differ.
McClure's investing is a side activity next to his operating roles, and he does not run a disclosed fund. Data providers disagree on how many deals he has done. Crunchbase lists 3 investments, 3 portfolio companies, 0 lead investments and 1 exit. PitchBook lists 5 investments and 2 exits. His personal site lists 5 investments.
The dated deals that appear in these sources are:
Demisto, a security orchestration company, in 2016. PitchBook records it as an early-stage round, and Crunchbase lists it as a Series A. Palo Alto Networks acquired it in 2019.
JASK, an AI-based security operations company, in 2017. This was an angel investment, and he sat on the board. Sumo Logic acquired JASK in November 2019.
Nightfall AI, in a Series A round in 2019 to 2020. Crunchbase dates the round to November 2019, and CB Insights dates a Series A-II to February 2020.
Globus.ai, in a seed round in December 2020.
His site also lists Soluble, a cloud infrastructure security company acquired by Lacework in 2021. It says he is an advisor to the venture firms Ten Eleven Ventures (cybersecurity-focused), ClearSky Ventures and Hyperwise Ventures.
His AI work comes mostly through companies he runs. NumberOne AI announced a $13 million raise in October 2022 to build an incubator that uses predictive AI and machine learning to help start companies. Investors named in the announcement include Art Coviello, Aidan Kehoe, Alex Weiss, Ray Zadjmool, Drumwright Investments, B5 Capital and Miramar Digital Ventures. A Techspective write-up of the launch says he plans to focus on quality over quantity. This is capital raised by McClure's company, not his personal check.
Wethos AI raised $7.5 million in seed funding, according to the Orange County Business Journal.
As an outside investor, he backed Globus.ai, whose staffing platform is described on its site as AI-based and aimed at Europe. Globus.ai announced him as a board member. PitchBook lists him as a board observer. He also invested in Nightfall AI, which Crunchbase and PitchBook classify as business software.
The public record points to early-stage deals: angel, seed and Series A rounds. The sectors are security and enterprise software, with an AI angle in more recent years. Tracxn lists his top investment sectors as enterprise infrastructure and enterprise applications, with portfolio companies in the United States. Globus.ai is a European-focused exception.
He has not publicly stated a check size or an investment thesis for his personal angel investing. Crunchbase shows no lead investments, so he has appeared as a participant in rounds rather than the lead. Founders in security, application security, or AI applied to enterprise problems have the clearest overlap with his history. He is a security operator first, so a pitch that shows how it fits that experience is more likely to be relevant than a generic one.
- Demisto: security orchestration and automation platform, early-stage investment in 2016. Acquired by Palo Alto Networks in 2019.
- JASK: AI-based security operations platform, angel investment in 2017 with a board seat. Acquired by Sumo Logic in 2019.
- Nightfall AI: data security company, Series A participation in 2019 to 2020.
- Globus.ai: AI staffing platform, seed round in December 2020. He later joined its board.
- Soluble: cloud infrastructure security company, listed on his personal site as an investment. Acquired by Lacework in 2021.
- NumberOne AI: AI incubator he founded and leads, which raised $13 million in 2022.
- crunchbase.com/person/stuart-mcclure
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/160124-50
- stuartmcclure.ai
- rsaconference.com/experts/stuart-mcclure
- conference-board.org/bio/stuart-mcclure
- globus.ai/post/introducing-new-globus-ai-board-member-stuart-mcclure
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/numberone-ai-raises-13m-to-fund-predictiv
- techspective.net/2022/10/11/numberone-ai-launches-with-mission-to-chan
Investing activity
Stuart McClure has made 3 investments according to Crunchbase across 3 portfolio companies, and has seen 1 exit and founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Stuart McClure
Does Stuart McClure invest in AI startups?
Yes. He has backed AI-related companies such as Nightfall AI and Globus.ai. He also founded the AI incubator NumberOne AI, which raised $13 million in 2022.
What is Stuart McClure's check size?
It is not public. None of the sources found state a typical check size, and Crunchbase shows no lead investments.
What stage does Stuart McClure invest in?
His dated investments are angel, seed and Series A rounds, from Demisto in 2016 to Globus.ai in 2020. He has not published a formal stage preference.
What companies has Stuart McClure founded?
He founded Foundstone (acquired by McAfee in 2004) and co-founded Cylance (acquired by BlackBerry in 2019). He also founded NumberOne AI. He now leads Qwiet AI and Wethos AI as CEO.
How many investments has Stuart McClure made?
It depends on the source. Crunchbase lists 3 investments, PitchBook lists 5, and his own site lists 5. His angel activity is limited compared with a full-time investor.
How can founders contact Stuart McClure?
He is active on X at @stuartmcclure and has a personal site at stuartmcclure.ai that links to his profiles. He has not published a pitch process for angel investing.
Is Stuart McClure an angel investor?
Yes. Stuart McClure invests personally as an angel and is Chief Executive Officer at Qwiet. Crunchbase counts 3 investments and 1 exit.
Where is Stuart McClure based?
Stuart McClure is based in Orange, California, United States.
How can founders reach Stuart McClure?
Founders on Lounge can see Stuart McClure's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Stuart McClure to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.