Pioneer Square Labs
Seattle-based startup studio and early-stage venture fund (PSL Ventures) investing in Pacific Northwest tech companies; participated in Overland AI's $10M Seed round (2024).
PSL Ventures is the venture capital arm of Pioneer Square Labs, a Seattle startup studio founded in 2015. It is a generalist early-stage technology investor (explicitly excluding pure biotech, energy, and pharma) with a strong geographic focus on the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia). The fund invests alongside and independently of the PSL Studio, which has spun out 30+ venture-backed companies since 2015.
Overview
- Firm
- Pioneer Square Labs
- Headquarters
- Seattle, WA
- Founded
- 2015
- AUM
- $80M (Fund I, 2018) + $100M (Fund II, closed 2021)
- Avg. check
- $1M-$3M
- Stages
- Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
- Thesis
- Early-stage (pre-seed/seed/Series A) generalist technology investing focused on the Pacific Northwest; thesis areas include machine learning/engineering innovation, digital transformation of consumer habits, and shifting legacy verticals to the cloud. Explicitly excludes pure biotech, energy, and pharma.
Portfolio companies1
Partners2
- FounderGreg GottesmanCo-founder & Managing Director of Pioneer Square Labs / PSL Ventures (fund:pioneer-square-labs), founded 2015 after 20 years as one of Madrona Venture Group's three founding Managing Directors; also co-founded and was founding CEO of Rover.com (acquired by Blackstone for $2.3B in 2024).
- FounderMike GalgonaQuantive co-founder (acquired by Microsoft for $6B in 2007) and a 2015 co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, where he served as Managing Director and later Venture Partner; departed PSL to become CEO of Global Partnerships effective July 31, 2024, after more than 20 years on its board.
Frequently asked
- What is Pioneer Square Labs?
- Early-stage (pre-seed/seed/Series A) generalist technology investing focused on the Pacific Northwest; thesis areas include machine learning/engineering innovation, digital transformation of consumer habits, and shifting legacy verticals to the cloud. Explicitly excludes pure biotech, energy, and pharma.
- How much does Pioneer Square Labs manage?
- Pioneer Square Labs manages $80M (Fund I, 2018) + $100M (Fund II, closed 2021) in assets, and was founded in 2015.
- What stages does Pioneer Square Labs invest at?
- Pioneer Square Labs invests at Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, with typical checks of $1M-$3M.
Sources & citations4
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
$10M Seed round led by Point72 Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Ascend VC, Pioneer Square Labs, Voyager Capital, and Cubit Capital
Overland AI: Overland AI Secures $10M in Seed Funding to Accelerate Development of Autonomous Vehicle Software for High-Risk MissionsVerified2024-05-20 - 2
PSL Ventures Fund II closed at $100M (exceeded $80M target); Fund I raised $80M in 2018; check size $1M to $3M initial investment
GeekWire: Pioneer Square Labs raises $100M fund for venture arm to back more Pacific Northwest startupsVerified2021-03-01 - 3
- 4
Current leadership roster: Greg Gottesman, Vivek Ladsariya (Managing Directors), David Zager (Partner), Palvi Mehta (Operating Partner/CFO), Julie Sandler, Ben Gilbert, Geoff Entress, T.A. McCann (Venture Partners)
PSL: PSL team pageVerified2026-08-09