Rackhouse Ventures

Founding Partner Kevin Novak leads the investment team. He is a serial entrepreneur and data scientist who was Uber's first Head of Data Science and invented its dynamic pricing product. Brendan Baker serves as Partner and brings experience from AngelList, Greylock, and Ridge Ventures.

The firm sources through a deep network of practicing data scientists and operators. Its venture partners include senior ML leaders from Netflix, Oura, Airbnb, and Linktree, who surface applied-AI startups before they enter broad fundraising processes. Baker's prior work at AngelList and Greylock involved building systems to systematize venture with data, which informs the sourcing approach.

Rackhouse focuses on early-stage investments, specifically Seed and startup rounds. It targets companies that sit at the intersection of AI/ML and the physical world, writing initial checks into applied-AI founders in sectors like aerospace, logistics, industrial automation, and fintech.

Rackhouse operates as a traditional venture capital management firm investing in early-stage companies. However, its team is unusually operator-heavy, with venture partners who hold active executive roles at companies like Linktree and Stytch while also sourcing and evaluating deals for the fund.

The firm invests primarily in North American startups but has demonstrated willingness to back companies in East Africa. Portfolio companies include Amitruck, a digital freight marketplace operating in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, and Wasoko, which serves informal retailers across multiple African countries.

Rackhouse's public materials do not specify a lead versus follow posture. As a Seed-stage firm with a concentrated operator network, it likely participates in rounds where its data-science expertise adds value, but explicit round-leadership disclosure is not available.

The firm's LP base is not publicly disclosed. Kevin Novak founded the firm after his tenure at Uber and Tala Financial. No family-office backing, institutional anchor, or fund-of-funds investor has been named publicly.