SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) announced today that it has raised $15 million to scale its Seattle-based startup studio, which partners with entrepreneurs to create and build innovative companies. Foundry Group led the financing with $10 million, with participation from PSL’s 12 existing venture capital fund investors and 60 angel investors.
Since its inception in October 2015, PSL has spun out nine companies, six of which have been announced and have received funding from leading U.S. venture capital firms. PSL’s team has grown to over 20 employees, including engineers, data scientists, designers, digital marketers and business analysts. Each team member helps to validate new ideas and work with entrepreneurs to launch companies quickly.
“It’s working,” said Brad Feld, Managing Director of Foundry Group. “I would encourage every entrepreneur in Seattle to check out what Pioneer Square Labs is doing. We are excited about what’s going on in Seattle and think PSL is at the center of it.”
The total equity value of the six announced spinouts is $100 million, as determined by outside venture capital firms, and those spinouts have thus far raised over $26 million.
In addition to the startup studio, PSL recently launched a new venture capital arm to enhance and add to its offerings to studio companies and outside entrepreneurs.
PSL has worked on over 80 ideas, killing roughly nine out of ten projects. “Part of the magic of the studio model is that only ideas that we can validate quickly see the light of day,” PSL Managing Director Geoff Entress said. “We are best in the world at figuring out what works and what doesn’t. If you’re an entrepreneur, your most valuable asset is your time. With this model, entrepreneurs are not banging their heads against the wall on ideas that aren’t going to work.”
“We went from idea validation to a founding team and a $3.5 million seed financing in two months,” said Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless, a startup that automates the immigration process. “We couldn’t have done that without PSL. There’s no better partner than PSL for entrepreneurs who want to change the world.”
In addition to Boundless, PSL’s announced spinouts include Ad Lightning (eliminating bad ads on publisher websites), LumaTax (sales tax automation), JetClosing (next-generation title and escrow service), Taunt (eSports fan competition platform), and TraceMe (superfan engagement platform).
PSL’s venture investors include Bezos Expeditions, Foundry Group, Greycroft Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, Menlo Ventures, MHS Capital, Sinclair Digital, Techstars Ventures, Trilogy Equity Partners, True Ventures, Voyager Capital and Vulcan. Some of the angel investors include Expedia and Zillow founder Rich Barton, former Concur CEO Steve Singh, ARCH Ventures co-founder Bob Nelsen, former ExactTarget CEO Scott Dorsey and Hootsuite founder and CEO Ryan Holmes.
About Pioneer Square Labs
Pioneer Square Labs is a Seattle-based startup studio and venture firm that finances, creates and launches technology startups. For more information, visit www.psl.com.
About Foundry Group
Foundry Group is a venture capital firm focused on making early-stage technology investments, participating in select growth rounds, and identifying and supporting the next generation of venture fund managers. It is located in Boulder, CO but invests in companies across North America. For more information, visit www.foundrygroup.com.
