Pack Ventures, a Seattle-based fund backing startups connected to the University of Washington, is raising $30 million for its second fund.
The goal is to amplify its impact on the local entrepreneurial landscape.
Launched two years ago, Pack Ventures has a clear strategy: back early-stage startups either spun out of UW or led by its alumni.
It’s a model similar to that of other university-affiliated funds, but in Seattle, it’s gaining traction.
In its first round, Pack raised $5 million from over 80 investors, a mix of veteran VCs and first-time venture capitalists.
That seed money was distributed across 26 companies, spanning life sciences, software, and healthcare.
“We called it our proof-of-concept fund,” said Ken Horenstein, Pack’s founder and general partner, who previously worked at Microsoft’s venture fund.
The success of that initial fund has set the stage for this next, more ambitious round of fundraising.
Recently, Pack signed a memorandum of understanding with UW to become the university’s preferred venture partner, solidifying its role in the innovation ecosystem.
“We proved we could build a relationship not just with the university, but with the broader community,” Horenstein added.
Pack has already co-invested with several prominent Seattle firms, backing startups like Monod Bio, a spinoff from UW’s Institute for Protein Design, and Outbound AI, a healthcare software company started by a UW alum.
Pack also invested early in Talus, a biotech startup that just announced new funding.
Ken and Pack Ventures have access to the most promising ideas and founders emerging from UW, one of the world’s leading research institutions,” said Mike Fridgen, managing director at Madrona Venture Labs.
Though fully independent of the university, Pack operates like a traditional venture firm, raising money from limited partners and investing in promising startups.
Similar funds linked to institutions like Berkeley and MIT have already made their mark, and many see Pack as a long-overdue addition for UW, given the significant research funding flowing through the university.
“This isn’t about breaking new ground or taking on wild risks,” Horenstein noted. “It’s about catching up with our top research peers.”
Pack’s approach is part of a broader effort at UW to translate cutting-edge research into marketable products.
However, the fund’s laser focus on supporting UW’s mission makes it a unique player in the space.
Mike Halperin, a longtime UW supporter who helped conceptualize Pack, highlighted this alignment, saying, “There’s a role for a venture fund deeply rooted in supporting UW’s vision and the state of Washington’s population.”
As a 506(c) fund, Pack is free to actively promote itself to potential accredited investors and welcomes smaller individual investments, making it accessible to a diverse group of backers.
Some of these investors hail from tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, seeking to dip their toes into startup investing without the hefty commitments typical of larger funds.
The fund also allows for sidecar investments, where limited partners can invest additional capital into Pack portfolio companies.
With the new fund, Horenstein plans to write larger checks—up to $750,000 per company—amplifying Pack’s impact on the business landscape.
Still, challenges remain. The venture market is shaky, and Pack, despite its early success, is a new and unproven player. But Horenstein remains optimistic.
“If Pack had existed a decade ago, we could be looking at $30 billion-plus in exit value,” he said.
Despite UW’s prestigious academic standing, entrepreneurship hasn’t fully taken root in its culture.
Students often focus on landing jobs at Big Tech firms rather than launching their startups. Horenstein hopes Pack can help shift that mindset.
“We haven’t quite sparked that catalytic effect at UW yet,” he admitted. But with a new fund on the horizon, that change might just be around the corner.
Pack Ventures will share more about its upcoming fund at a lunch event on August 30.
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