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Pier 70 Ventures

Venture capital

Seattle · Seed–Series A · 17 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Pier 70 Ventures seeks out talented entrepreneurs beyond conventional channels and invests in impact-driven, disruptive innovation, particularly technologies with potential to transform healthcare. The firm partners with early-stage companies to build diverse teams, providing capital and counsel alongside access to an extensive global network of Fortune 200 leaders, universities, and government contacts. Its team combines industry leaders, entrepreneurs, private equity investors, and technologists who contribute operational and investment experience across deal sourcing, due diligence, and corporate and government contracting. Pier 70 emphasizes cultivating diverse C-suite and board talent to strengthen governance and deliver enhanced value for its corporate and institutional investors while generating strong returns.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Series A
HQ
Seattle, Washington, US
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2021
Tracked investments
4

Team · 17 people

from the firm's website & public directories
Robert (Bob) H. Balk· Co-Founder & Venture Partnerin

Balk is a Co-Founder and Venture Partner at Pier 70 Ventures with a background in strategy, finance, and venture capital investing. He joined Boeing in 1997 and later led its Phantom Works venture capital fund-of-funds program, growing it into a $250M portfolio of 32 funds with a focus on areas such as energy, materials, and advanced computing. Since leaving Boeing he has worked in entrepreneurial programs in Central New York, including mentoring at Cornell University and serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence at High Tech Rochester. He holds an MBA from the University of Rochester Simon School and a BS from SUNY Buffalo.

Preetha Ram· Managing Partnerin

Preetha Ram is Managing Partner at Pier 70 Ventures, where she manages portfolio investments, deal flow, and portfolio company development. She previously founded and led OpenStudy, a peer-to-peer online learning community that she scaled to over 60 million learners and exited, and has held academic leadership roles at Emory University, Alliant University, and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from Yale, an MBA from Emory University, and studied at the Indian Institute of Technology.

R. Miller Adams· Managing Partnerin

Miller is a co-founder and Managing Partner at Pier 70 Ventures, where he handles investor development and relations and helps lead the firm's deal flow strategy. He previously served as VP Global R&D Strategy at The Boeing Company and President of Boeing Phantom Works Investments, and later was EVP for Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary at Integral Systems, Inc. Trained as a lawyer, he began his career advising early-stage technology companies on financing and business matters, and holds a BA from Seattle University and a JD from the University of Puget Sound School of Law.

Shaun Hawkins· Managing Partnerin

Shaun Hawkins is a Managing Partner at Pier 70 Ventures, where he manages investments and builds the portfolio with a focus on healthtech. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences investing, and previously served as Vice President of New Ventures and Private Equity at Eli Lilly and Company, where he helped create a $450 million Capital Funds Portfolio. He is the founder of Prosyte Companies, which includes Auxigen Health and Auxigen Medical, and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Leland Melvin· Venture Partnerin

Former NASA astronaut and aerospace materials science research engineer who co-chaired a White House National Science and Technology Council committee on STEM education.

David S. Wilkes· Venture Advisorin

Dean at the University of Virginia, co-founder of ImmuneWorks, board member at Baxter International, and former Major in the USAF.

Dennis Liotta· Venture Advisorin

Chair of The Emory Institute for Drug Development and of Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory.

Fatima Cody Stanford· Venture Advisorin

MD, MPH, MPA affiliated with MGH/HMS; MLK Scholar, former CDC Communications Fellow, and Gold Congressional Award winner.

Frederick W. Grimm· Venture Advisorin

Chairman of Triad Development, real estate developer, and angel investor.

Jeff Geng· Venture Advisorin

Ph.D. and investor at LRG Ventures; Managing Director of IP and Research at Emory.

Jenn Bennett· Venture Advisorin

Technical Director in the Office of the CTO at Google Cloud, focused on enterprise digital transformation, advanced manufacturing, and ESG.

Leisl Kleindl-Schelling· Chief Financial Officer

CPA serving as the firm's Chief Financial Officer.

Meg O'Conor· Director, Communications
Minnie Sarwal· Venture Advisorin

Professor of Surgery, Medicine and Pediatrics at UCSF, FDA Science Board member, Rosenman Institute founding fellow, and Medical Director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at UCSF.

Onix Ramirez· Venture Advisorin

Investor at LRG Ventures and Chief of Staff and Director of Financial Operations at Liotta Research Group.

Phil Nwafor· Venture Advisorin

Head of Sales & GTM for Google Cloud HCLS, focused on AI, digital health, cloud transformation, and strategic growth.

Stephanie Bousheri· Venture Advisorin

Digital health leader, clinician executive, founder, and board chair; director of digital health innovation.

What they invest in

from 3 of 4 portfolio companies

Healthtech ×2AI & Machine Learning ×1Digital Health ×1Enterprise Software ×1FemTech ×1Marketing Tech ×1Medical Devices ×1SaaS ×1

HQs:United States×2Canada×1

Investments · 4 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2024 · 22023 · 13 dated

Flytetherapyflytetherapy.com✓ verified

Pelvital is a medical device company that develops FDA-cleared in-home treatments for stress urinary incontinence and pelvic floor muscle weakness in women, using a proprietary mechanotherapy technology.

Digital HealthFemTechHealthtechMedical DevicesEagan, US

Dale Wahlstrom(Co-founder and founding CEO (retired from CEO role, serving as Executive Chair))Lydia Zeller(CEO)

Co-investorsBoomerang VenturesWisconsin Investment Partners

Flyteflyteai.comin𝕏Apr 2024 · $2.3M

Flyte provides sales leaders with a unified platform for sales coaching, buyer sentiment analysis, competitive intelligence, and deal insights to monitor frontline team performance and achieve revenue goals.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSales TechToronto, CA

Shilpa Sharma(Founder)inChhavi Singh(Founder)in

Co-investorsTechstarsBoomerang Ventures

Vital View Technologiesvitalviewtech.cominDec 2023 · $4.6M

Vital View Technologies has rebranded to PrīmSphera and directs visitors to its new website.

Ray Fraser(Founder)in

Co-investorsElevate Ventures

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Pelvital USA

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Pier 70 Ventures invest at?
Pier 70 Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
What sectors does Pier 70 Ventures focus on?
Pier 70 Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Cloud Computing, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Digital Health, Healthtech, Impact & Social Good, SaaS.
Where is Pier 70 Ventures located?
Pier 70 Ventures is headquartered in Seattle, US.

Images

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