Cowles Ventures
Family officeSpokane · Seed–Series A · 10 people tracked
Investment thesis
Cowles Company is a family-owned holding enterprise with roots dating to 1890 in Spokane newspaper publishing. It operates a diversified portfolio spanning newspapers and print publications, the Inland Empire Paper Co. mill and timberland, broadcast television affiliates across Washington, Idaho and Montana, downtown real estate holdings including River Park Square, and insurance and financial-services businesses. Guided by family values of stewardship, integrity, leadership, connectivity and entrepreneurialism, the company takes a long-term view, seeking to invest in high-potential growth businesses for the benefit of shareholders, customers, employees and the communities in which it operates.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 17, 2026.
Team · 10 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 28 of 40 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×8Healthtech ×7SaaS ×6Enterprise Software ×5Medical Devices ×5Biotech ×4Data & Infrastructure ×4Deep Tech ×4
HQs:United States×23Italy×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 11 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×43 founders×2
Investments · 40 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 22023 · 12015 · 14 dated
Goldman Sachs is a global investment bank and financial services firm providing services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory, investment banking, and markets research to corporate and institutional clients.
FintechNew York City, US
Co-investorsTeamworthy VenturesVermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET)DST Global
The Alliance of Angels is an angel investor group of 180+ accredited members that finances and supports early-stage, high-growth startups in technology, hardware, consumer, and life sciences.
Sector Agnostic
Seattle, US
JACOB O. WOBBROCK(Executive Officer)WILLIAM T. COLLERAN(Executive Officer, Director)ANDREW KO(Executive Officer)
BoardWILLIAM MCALEER(Director)inMARK UPSON(Director)MICHAEL FRIDGEN(Director)
Co-investorsThe W FundVoyager CapitalWRF Capital
Cardiac Insight develops handheld and wearable ECG devices for cardiac diagnostics, including the Cardea 20/20 for athlete heart screening and the Cardea SOLO for 7-day ambulatory monitoring.
BiotechHardwareHealthtechMedical DevicesBellevue, US
David Linker(Executive Officer, Director)Dr. Dave Hadley(Founder)Dr. Vic Froelicher(Founder)Bill Willis(Executive Officer)Brad Harlow(Executive Officer, Director)Robert deGavre(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsKeiretsu ForumSeaChangeThe W Fund
Cato Digital builds a bare metal cloud platform focused on maximizing data center capacity utilization through low-cost, low-carbon computing solutions.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeep Tech
Co-investorsDolby Family Ventures
Clear Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides seed capital, connections, and company-building support to fast-growing startups.
Cowles Semi develops miniLED transfer and placement technology, combining proprietary software and custom hardware to build machines for high-yield, precise miniLED placement.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareSemiconductorsLiberty Lake, US
BuildDirect is an online marketplace for home improvement and flooring products such as hardwood, tile, and other building materials, selling directly to homeowners and contractors.
Construction TechE-commerceMarketplaces
Co-investorsPender Growth Fund
Enel is an energy utility group that produces and supplies power, with a focus on renewable energy generation, energy trading, and related services across multiple markets in the Americas and Europe.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyRome, IT
Co-investorsVenturEast
FUSE is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders across enterprise software, vertical software, AI, robotics, and space, drawing on a network of 300+ operators, executives, and founders to support portfolio companies.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Kellan(General Partner)Brendan(General Partner)Cameron(General Partner)John(Operating Partner)Satbir(Operating Partner)Bobby(Operating Partner)
Fierce Network is a news and media outlet covering the broadband, cloud, AI, wireless, and data center industries through articles, research, podcasts, webinars, and industry events.
Media & Entertainment
Co-investorsAviv Venture Capital
Treasury4 is a cloud-native, API-connected treasury management platform that unifies cash, payments, and entity data from banks, ERPs, and investment portals into a single environment with real-time cash visibility, AI-driven transaction categorization, and forecasting.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaSSpokane, US
Ed Barrie(Founder)
Co-investorsVoyager Capital
Co-investorsNautilus Ventures Management Company (Us), Llc
Domino Data Lab provides a platform for enterprise machine learning operations that enables data scientists to experiment, build models, and deploy AI applications at scale with governance and reproducibility.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareHollywood, US
Nick Elprin(CEO and Co-Founder)inChristopher Yang(Co-Founder)inMatthew Granade(Co-Founder)
Co-investorsCoatue ManagementHighland EuropeSlow VenturesZetta Venture PartnersBloomberg BetaDell Technologies Capital+4 more
Gestalt provides a vendor-neutral digital pathology platform and professional services that enable pathology laboratories and health systems to modernize workflows, integrate AI tools, and manage diagnostic imaging without vendor lock-in.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesSpokane, US
Steve Rector(Executive Officer)inKen McCabe(Executive Officer, Director)Dan Roark(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardBill Driscoll(Director)Chris Patrick(Director)Octavio Morales(Director)
Co-investorsSun Mountain CapitalKickstart
HCVC is a venture capital firm that invests in founders building scientific and technological progress through hardware, robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing innovations.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechRobotics
Co-investorsHCVCIsomer Capital
HyperSciences develops a hypersonic accelerator engine aimed at mining and tunneling applications.
Construction TechDeep TechHardwareSpokane, US
Mark Russell(Executive Officer, Director)Michelle Carbon(Executive Officer)
BoardMichael McSherry(Director)Charles Russell(Director)
Co-investorsThe W Fund
Impel Pharmaceuticals develops therapies for patients using its drug delivery technology and expertise with small and large molecules.
BiotechHealthtechMedical Devices
Co-investorsNorwest Venture PartnersvenBio Partners
Medcurity is an AI-powered compliance platform for healthcare organizations to manage HIPAA requirements, including security risk analysis, vulnerability assessments, vendor management, and employee training.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechSpokane, US
Joe Gellatly(Executive Officer, Director)Amanda Hepper(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardTom Simpson(Director)
Co-investorsSeaChange
Co-investorsGideon Hixon Fund
Qualterra provides molecular plant testing services for horticultural and agricultural operations, including virus screening, variety verification, and genomic analysis.
AgTechBiotechPullman, US
Mike Werner(Executive Officer, Director)Amit Dhingra(Director)
BoardSteve Rector(Director)inBob McCambridge(Director)Kirk Washington(Director)
Quintar builds an infrastructure layer for spatial AI, providing a shared spatial foundation that anchors AI agents, devices, and people to the same real-world reference points.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSanta Clara, US
Jeff Jonas(Founder)
Co-investorsSeventySix Capital
Revival Tea Company sells loose-leaf and packaged teas online, including black teas, green teas, herbal teas, and chai.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceSpokane, US
Andrew Henry(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsCapital Q® Ventures Inc.
Clarivate is a global provider of transformative intelligence offering enriched data, insights, analytics, workflow solutions and expert services for academia, government, intellectual property and life sciences.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareLegalTechSaaS
Co-investorsVoyager Capital
Advanced ManufacturingSpokane, US
Tim Ledford(Founder)inBrandon Bledsoe(Founder)inBrandon Jon Bledsoe(Executive Officer, Director)John W. Thompson(Executive Officer, Director)Timothy G. Ledford(Executive Officer, Director)
Scientia Vascular develops guidewires, including the Aristotle and Zoom Wire product lines, for general vascular use within the neuro and peripheral vasculatures to introduce and position catheters and other interventional devices.
HealthtechMedical DevicesWest Valley City, US
John Lippert(Executive Officer, Director)Stacy Lippert(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJeffrey Gladden(Dr. Gladden is a manager of the issuer.)David Bearss(Mr. Bearss is a manager of the issuer.)Rick Randall(Mr. Randall is a manager of the issuer.)Jerry Henley(Mr. Henley is a manager of the issuer.)
Co-investorsVivo Capital
SheerID provides an identity verification platform that instantly confirms whether consumers belong to specific communities—such as students, military, educators, and first responders—using over 200,000 authoritative data sources.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureMarketing TechSaaSEugene, US
David Shear(Co-founder & President)inJake Weatherly(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsBrighton Park CapitalCentana Growth PartnersVoyager Capital
Spiceology is a chef-founded company that makes spice blends, seasonings, and BBQ rubs, offering both consumer products and hard-to-find ingredients and labor-saving solutions for professional chefs.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceSpokane, US
Heather Scholten(Director)Eric Anderson(Executive Officer)Darby McLean(Executive Officer, Director)Brenda Bening(Executive Officer)Overstreet Ronald(Executive Officer, Director)Pete Taylor(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsJackson Square Ventures
Junction Brain Health provides Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy and esketamine nasal spray (Spravato®) for treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesMental Health
Christopher Blackburn(Founder | President)Dr. Robert Sammons(Co-Founder & CMO Emeritus)
Liberty Lake, US
Katie Laas(Founder)
Co-investorsSun Mountain CapitalSwan Venture FundAlbum VCIncisive VenturesVoyager Capital
Voyager Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in technology startups, with a portfolio spanning robotics, cybersecurity, legal AI, cleantech, and enterprise software.
Enterprise SoftwareSaaSSector Agnostic
Seattle, US
John Larson(Executive Officer)John Stafford, III(Director)Anthony Riemma(Executive Officer)Lucas Price(Executive Officer)John Lauer(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Melinda White(Director)
Co-investorsLakewest Venture PartnersOpenView Venture PartnersVoyager Capital
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioGoldman SachsNYSE: GS
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesGoldman Sachs · tipranks.com · Aug 20, 2026
Domino Data Lab · finsmes.com · Aug 22, 2025
Gestalt Diagnostics · lifesciencewa.org · May 6, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Cowles Ventures made?
- Cowles Ventures has 41 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Cowles Ventures invest at?
- Cowles Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Cowles Ventures's typical check size?
- Cowles Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.
- What sectors does Cowles Ventures focus on?
- Cowles Ventures focuses on Climate Tech, Consumer, Enterprise Software, Healthtech, InsurTech, Media & Entertainment, New Materials, PropTech, SaaS.
- Where is Cowles Ventures located?
- Cowles Ventures is headquartered in Spokane, US.
- Who does Cowles Ventures co-invest with?
- Cowles Ventures most often shares deals with Voyager Capital, The W Fund, SeaChange, among 32 tracked co-investors.
Co-investors · 4
Voyager Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage entrepreneurs across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, focusing on the modern economy.
Jackson Square Ventures (JSV) is an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco that backs founders building software and marketplace companies. Founded in 2011, it has invested more than $700 million across multiple funds.
Thomvest is a group of investment companies that invests on behalf of Peter J. Thomson and his family, backing teams across market cycles and supporting portfolio companies with mentorship, strategic guidance, and resources.
Artis Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on supporting founders reimagining the systems that sustain life, spanning from cellular biology to broader societal impact.
Firms observed investing alongside Cowles Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Cowles Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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