301 Ventures

Chris Haug co-founded the firm and leads investment decisions. The partnership's full composition beyond Haug has not been publicly detailed, reflecting a concentrated decision-making structure typical of early-stage micro-VC funds.

The firm sources predominantly through the University of Maryland's tech transfer office, affiliated incubators such as the Discovery District, and direct relationships with faculty and PhD candidates at the Clark School of Engineering and the Maryland Cybersecurity Center. This campus-embedded model provides visibility into lab-stage companies before they formally enter the seed fundraising market.

301 Ventures targets pre-seed and seed rounds, writing initial checks from roughly $250,000 to $1.5 million. The firm frequently serves as the first institutional capital in a round, occasionally co-leading alongside other DC-Maryland-Virginia regional funds.

The firm functions as a traditional venture partnership in its legal and fund structure, but its operating model is closer to a university-linked proof-of-concept fund. Physical placement in College Park and deep integration with UMD's commercialization infrastructure distinguish its sourcing from generalist seed funds.

The firm does not publicly publish an avoidance list. Observed behavior suggests a focus on enterprise-focused deep tech — software, AI/ML, and cybersecurity — with no known investments in consumer internet, biotech, or capital-intensive hardware manufacturing.