Seattle’s venture capital ecosystem is getting some fresh Bay Area talent with the addition of Vivek Ladsariya, a veteran investor who recently relocated from Silicon Valley to take a new role as managing director at Pioneer Square Labs (PSL).
Ladsariya spent the past seven years investing in enterprise technology startups at SineWave Ventures, and previously co-founded a gaming startup that was acquired in 2011.
Ladsariya told GeekWire he was drawn to both the quality of the PSL leadership team, as well the caliber of technical talent in the Pacific Northwest — something he said many investors outside the region don’t fully appreciate.
“I was contemplating staying in the Bay Area and investing out there,” he said. “But the more I got to understand this opportunity in Seattle, it was a no-brainer to be up here and fully immersed.”
Ladsariya will helping PSL invest out of its Ventures arm, which raised a $100 million fund in 2021 to back more Pacific Northwest tech startups. He will also play a role with PSL Studio, which spins out early-stage companies.
Ladsariya described his investing style as “very technically driven.” He’s particularly excited about startups building enterprise software infrastructure — certainly a strong suit of Seattle tech companies.
As for the AI boom, Ladsariya is looking for companies building real automation versus “just having intelligence that looks good and flashy.”
In his previous roles as a venture investor, Ladsariya backed companies including Databricks, Rescale, Osaro, and Evolv Technologies.
Ladsariya and his wife, along with their two dogs, just arrived in Seattle a few weeks ago, planting roots in the Queen Anne neighborhood.
“Seattle overall is just beautiful,” he said. “The neighborhood seems really warm, welcoming, friendly. And the people have been incredibly nice.”
Ladsariya grew up in India and did undergraduate studies at the University of Mumbai. He earned an MBA from Yale.
Founded in 2015, PSL has raised $180 million to date for its venture fund, and nearly $50 million to support its startup studio that has spun out more than 35 companies including Boundless, Recurrent, SingleFile, and others.
Earlier this year PSL announced a partnership with longtime Silicon Valley venture capital firm Mayfield to fund AI-focused startups.
Ben Gilbert, co-founder of PSL, recently transitioned away from his managing director role to focus more time on his podcast, Acquired. Other managing directors include Greg Gottesman; Julie Sandler; Geoff Entress; and T.A. McCann.