Ken Horenstein

Ken Horenstein

Founder & General Partner at Pack Ventures
Seattle, Washington, United States

Ken Horenstein is currently a Mentor at CoMotion at University of Washington, Founder & General Partner at Pack Ventures, and Co-founder at Venture Out. He founded Pack Ventures, which is still running, and co-founded Venture Out, which closed. He has expertise in venture capital and startup community building.

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Todd Bishop / GeekWire

GeekWire reports: Seattle Tech Week 2026 — AI dominates 250+ events as investors and job-seekers flock to Seattle

GeekWire's Todd Bishop reports from Seattle Tech Week 2026, where AI dominated conversations across more than 250 events and drew significant Bay Area investor interest and job-seeking attendees. Panels and speakers from OpenAI, Mistral AI, Ascend, Oumi and others highlighted debates about foundation models, enterprise data access, and the rush to build on third-party AI.

Kim Moore / Global Venturing

Universities Explore Diverse Venture Fund Models as Only One-Third of US Research Schools Currently Have Funds

Universities are increasingly considering launching venture funds to boost spinout creation and meet government expectations for economic impact, though only about a third of US research universities currently have one. Models vary widely—from university-run funds to partnerships with other universities or external VC firms—so institutions can tailor structures like single dedicated funds or multiple coexisting vehicles.

Jackson Holtz / UW News

Pack Ventures partners with University of Washington, raises $30M fund to back UW founders

Pack Ventures, an independent VC fund, has formalized a partnership with the University of Washington and CoMotion to support UW-affiliated startups, launch its second fund, and is raising $30 million with over 50 investors so far. Founder Ken Horenstein says the fund will lower investment barriers for alumni, attract faculty and students, boost philanthropy, and he has pledged up to 2% of his personal proceeds to the UW.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Pack Ventures Seeks $30M for Second Fund to Invest in University of Washington-Linked Startups

Pack Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on University of Washington-linked startups, raised $5 million for its first fund and is now aiming to raise $30 million for a second fund to expand its investments. The firm has established a preferred partnership with UW and co-invests with other Seattle VCs in companies across life sciences, software, and healthcare sectors.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Seattle Venture Capitalists Say Founder Support, Not Local Money, Is Key Missing Piece in Startup Ecosystem

Seattle's startup ecosystem is often criticized for a lack of local venture capital firms, but experts highlight that the true opportunity lies in fostering greater founder-to-founder investment and community support to strengthen the scene. Panelists at the Seattle AI Investor Summit emphasized that being a net importer of investment capital is positive, and more connectivity among founders could boost the city's startup success.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Aviel Ginzburg Launches Seattle Foundations to Support Tech Startups with Non-Equity Accelerator in Capitol Hill

Aviel Ginzburg and a team of entrepreneurs are launching Seattle Foundations, a new invite-only entrepreneurial community and shared workspace in Seattle, aiming to support tech founders with mentorship and resources without taking equity. The initiative, set to open later this year in Capitol Hill, will offer co-working space, events, and six-month memberships focused on startup acceleration.

John Cook / GeekWire

Pack Ventures launches Seattle syndicate to back UW-linked startups, pledges 10% of future profits to University of Washington

Pack Ventures, a new early-stage Seattle VC, will invest $100K–$200K checks in startups tied to the University of Washington and has already backed five companies including Jeeva Wireless, Talus.bio and Monod Bio; the firm will return 10% of individual future profits to UW. The syndicate includes more than 35 founding investors from the Seattle VC and entrepreneur community and will target AI, robotics, computational biology, enterprise software and other high-growth areas.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Venture Out launches $1,499 Moonlighter Lab to help full-time workers validate startups while keeping day jobs

Seattle nonprofit Venture Out launched Moonlighter Lab, an 8-week program that charges $1,499 to help full-time workers validate startup ideas while keeping their day jobs; some participants from the January cohort later quit to pursue startups. Venture Out, co-founded by Sean Sternbach and Ken Horenstein, previously ran a 12-week Venture Lab exchanging 4% equity and raised $700,000 last year led by M12.

Seattle Met

Venture Out helps Amazonians and other Seattle big‑tech employees build startups while keeping their day jobs

Venture Out is a program that helps Seattle big‑tech employees and alumni (including Amazonians and others) develop startup ideas while keeping their day jobs, offering guidance and support that can ease the transition to founding. The article profiles Brietta Easterlin, who left Indeed to launch Experience Shindig, and situates the program amid Seattle’s evolving startup ecosystem.

Organizations

See all 13
  • Pack Ventures logo
    Pack Ventures Founder & General Partner 2021–present · current
  • CoMotion at University of Washington Mentor 2017–present · current
  • Venture Out Co-founder · current

Education

  • Foster School of Business Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Marketing, Strategy, Entrepreneurship
  • Foster School of Business Bachelor’s Degree, Finance
  • Seattle University Finance, Philosophy
  • Hudson's Bay High School High School Diploma

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