About Design to Improve Life
Design to Improve Life, an accelerator and incubator program founded in 2002, is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. With a presence in 4 countries, it has supported around 4 startups in sectors like Food and Agriculture Tech, High Tech. As of May 2026, Design to Improve Life has 1 unicorn under its belt. Most notable companies in
its portfolio include Zipline, What3words and AgriBuddy. The program primarily supports Series A startups based in China. Its latest investment was a $120M Series D round in Zipline on May 17, 2019, which also saw participation from Baillie Gifford and Temasek.
Key Metrics
Design to Improve Life's List of All Investments
Design to Improve Life has a portfolio of 4 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investmentis in AgriBuddyTheir portfolio spans across China, Singapore, United Kingdom and 1 more locations. They have invested in Food and Agriculture Tech, High Tech, Enterprise Applications and 3 other sectors, across stages such as Grant (prize money), Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of all investments by Design to Improve Life:1. Zipline
Operator of drone delivery and logistics. It supports local communities on a global scale.
Key facts about Zipline
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series H
- Total Funding till date: $1.63B
- Employee Count: 23 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Fidelity Investments, StraightPath Venture Partners and 63 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series H, Mar 23, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. What3words
Developer of a system assigning unique identifiers to small areas. This technology divides the surface into squares, assigning a distinct combination of three words to each segment. These identifiers provide a method for communicating precise coordinates for navigation and logistics. The system functions through a digital interface that allows users to identify, share, and store specific points. It operates independently of traditional street addressing conventions and remains functional without an active network connection. The technology integrates into various software applications to facilitate location identification for transport and delivery purposes.
Key facts about What3words
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $231M
- Employee Count: 181 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Intel, Allen & Company and 210 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jul 10, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. AgriBuddy
AgriBuddy provides a cloud-based software solution for data recording, business intelligence, and agronomy information dissemination to the agriculture industries. The software comes in various version as per the use case. Separate modules for smallscale farmers, large scale farmers, supply chain player, agri input provider, and commodity traders are available in the software. For smallscale farmers, data recording and agronomy information regarding agri inputs along with suppliers and crop wise best practices along with visualization pictures are available. For large scale farmers, data recording and scouting data upload module is available on AgriBuddy platform.
Key facts about AgriBuddy
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Hong Kong (China)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $2.8M
- Employee Count: 10 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Mistletoe, Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Oct 06, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Sky Greens
Developer of vertical farming systems and waste recycling technology solutions. The company provides integrated urban agriculture technology for safe vegetable production. It offers solutions that minimize the impact on land, water, and energy resources. The company focuses on inventing and innovating agricultural solutions.
Key facts about Sky Greens
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Stage: Funding Raised
- Employee Count: 1 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Design to Improve Life, Applegreen Consulting and 4 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Aug 28, 2015, $*****
Design to Improve Life's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Design to Improve Life has invested in 4 companies over the last 11 years, with an average of 0 new investment annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in AgriBuddy and most recent follow-on round was in Zipline.Design to Improve Life's Investments by Stage
Design to Improve Life has made 1 investment in Grant (prize money) stage with an average round size of $110K, 1 investment in Series A stage with an average round size of $2.8M and 1 investment in Series C stage with an average round size of $70M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Grant (prize money) | 1 |
Series A | 1 |
Series C | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Design to Improve Life's Investments by Sector
Design to Improve Life has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Food and Agriculture Tech, Sustainability Tech, Consumer, Enterprise Applications and Environment Tech. Notably, it has invested in 4 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 4 Tech companies, 2 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 2 companies focusing on Social impact.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Food and Agriculture Tech | 2 |
Sustainability Tech | 2 |
Consumer | 1 |
Enterprise Applications | 1 |
Environment Tech | 1 |
Others | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Design to Improve Life's Investments by Geography
Design to Improve Life has made most investments in China (1), followed by Singapore where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
China | 1 |
Singapore | 1 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Design to Improve Life's recent investments
Design to Improve Life has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Design to Improve Life:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 17, 2019 | United States | Series D | 1005 | [+8] | |
Oct 06, 2018 | China | Series A | 1441 | [+5] | |
May 2018 | United States | Series C | 6312 | [+7] | |
Aug 28, 2015 | Singapore | Grant (prize money) | 5656 | - |
Unicorns in Design to Improve Life's Portfolio
Design to Improve Life has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - Zipline. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Zipline which became a unicorn in 2019.Here is a list of unicorns in Design to Improve Life's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 | Operator of drone delivery and logistics | 2011 | San Francisco | Series H | i{nxves |
Co-investors of Design to Improve Life
Over the past 11 years, 31 investors have co-invested in Design to Improve Life's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Design to Improve Life: Google Ventures, Oakhouse Partners and 7 others have invested in rounds before Design to Improve Life. There is 1 company where Google Ventures has invested before Design to Improve Life and 1 company where Oakhouse Partners has invested before Design to Improve Life.
- Top Co-investors of Design to Improve Life: 12 investors entered a company along with Design to Improve Life. These include investors like Baillie Gifford (1 company).
- Invested after Design to Improve Life: A total of 10 investors have invested in Design to Improve Life's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Valor Equity Partners (1 company) and Tiger Global Management (1 company).
Recent News related to Design to Improve Life
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Zipline speeds up with $190mGlobal Corporate Venturing•May 20, 2019•Katalyst Ventures, Baillie Gifford, Google Ventures, Temasek and 7 others
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