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Fund profile

Playfair Capital

Playfair Capital

London, United Kingdom

Not leading

About

Playfair Capital is a London-based venture capital firm that takes a contrarian approach to pre-seed investing. Unlike many high-volume funds, Playfair focuses on making a limited number of high-conviction investments—around 6 to 8 per year—allowing the team to dedicate significant time and resources to each portfolio company. With a sector-agnostic strategy, Playfair invests across various industries, backing visionary founders who are reimagining the future. Notable investments include companies like Thought Machine, Andela, and Mapillary, highlighting Playfair's ability to identify disruptive technology startups with the potential to scale globally. The firm operates primarily in the UK and Europe but maintains a global mindset, focusing on transformative technologies and business models. Playfair’s investment philosophy extends beyond financial capital. The team, which includes a diverse mix of professionals from angel investors to engineers, provides operational and strategic support to help startups grow rapidly. This approach has contributed to the success of over 70 companies across its two funds, with 73% of their startups securing Series A funding. The firm is also deeply committed to diversity, as evidenced by its Female Founder Office Hours initiative, which has helped raise £600 million for female-led startups. Led by Managing Partner Chris Smith and Founding Partner Federico Pirzio-Biroli, Playfair remains dedicated to building long-term relationships with founders, fostering an inclusive and collaborative venture ecosystem.

Details

Average check

$1M-$3M
$3M-$10M
$10M-$50M

Round

Pre-Seed
Seed
Series A
Venture Round

Previous Investments

Advertising & Marketing
Agritech & Farming
AI & Deep Tech
Biotech
CleanTech & Sustainability
Communications & Messaging
Consumer Goods & Electronics
Data & Analytics
E-commerce & Retail
Education
Energy & Utilities
Fashion & Apparel
Fintech & Financial services
Food & Beverage
Gaming
Hardware. Robotics & IoT
Healthtech & Wellness
HR & Recruitment
HR & Recruitment
Legal & Professional services
Lifestyle
Media, Events & Entertainment
Natural Resources
Other
Pharma
Real Estate & Proptech
Security & Privacy
Sharing economy
Social media
Software & Apps
Space economy
Sports & Fitness
Transportation & Mobility
Travel & Tourism
VR & AR
Web 3.0

Highlights

$1M

Historical average check

$23M

Historical max check

February 2025

Last investment date

114

Investments

AI & Deep Tech

Fintech & Financial services

Transportation & Mobility

Software & Apps

Real Estate & Proptech

Food & Beverage

Social media

Healthtech & Wellness

Data & Analytics

Hardware. Robotics & IoT

VR & AR

E-commerce & Retail

Other

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Contacts

Website

playfair.vc

Email

hello@playfair.vc

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