About Playfair Capital
Playfair Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2013. It is primarily based out of London, United Kingdom. As of Jun 2026, Playfair Capital is an active investor, having invested in 61 companies, with 7 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in United Kingdom based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to High Tech and Retail. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of Astral Systems Overall, Playfair Capital portfolio has seen 2 unicorns, 1 IPO and 13 acquisitions including key companies like Seldon, Andela and Ravelin Technology. A lot of funds co-invest with Playfair Capital, with names like Entrepreneur First sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Playfair Capital has team of 6 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Deals in last 12 months
Playfair Capital's List of Top Investments
Playfair Capital has a portfolio of 61 companies, including 2 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Nory AI and uMed.Their portfolio spans across United Kingdom, United States, Ireland and 10 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Retail and 22 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Playfair Capital:Operator of autonomous robots for delivery of goods and advertising. The robots utilize sensors and machine learning to navigate and deliver items. These robots deliver hot food, groceries, and industrial supplies to customers. The company offers solutions for university campuses, grocery retailers, delivery applications, and industrial sites.
Key facts about Starship Technologies
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $281M
- Employee Count: 568 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Shasta Ventures, Superangel and 39 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Oct 15, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Seldon
Open source framework for deploying ML models. The cloud-based solution converts ML models or language wrappers into production REST or GRPC microservices. It provides scaling solutions to the production of models and features ML tools such as advanced metrics, request logging, explainers, outlier detectors, AB Tests, canaries, and more.
Key facts about Seldon
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $39.1M
- Employee Count: 91 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Amadeus Capital, Bright Pixel Capital and 26 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Mar 16, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Andela
Tech talent training and employment solutions provider. The platform allows candidates to learn, develop skills and create a talent pool. It provides services for employers such as sourcing, assessment, matching candidates to the jobs, and more.
Key facts about Andela
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $381M
- Employee Count: 1,287 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, Finger Group and 55 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Sep 29, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Developer of software for online payment fraud and abuse prevention. This technology utilizes machine learning models, graph network analysis, and behavioral data to identify and block fraudulent transactions. The system assists merchants in managing authentication requirements, verifying customer identities, and mitigating risks associated with account takeovers, promotional voucher misuse, and refund claims. It provides tools for transaction monitoring and decisioning to support secure payment processing across digital commerce platforms.
Key facts about Ravelin Technology
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £10M - £50M as on Dec 31, 2024
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $37.2M
- Employee Count: 161 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Dust Road Ventures, Molten Ventures and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jul 15, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Developer of cloud native core banking and payment processing software. These systems enable financial institutions to manage accounts, loans, mortgages, and payment schemes through a microservices architecture. The platform utilizes an application programming interface to facilitate integration with external services and technologies. Product configuration is managed through a system of smart contracts, allowing for the creation and deployment of financial products. The infrastructure supports horizontal scaling and continuous deployment to maintain operational availability.
Key facts about Thought Machine
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £10M - £50M as on Dec 31, 2024
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $767M
- Employee Count: 520 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: SEB, Temasek and 36 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Jul 06, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Playfair Capital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Playfair Capital has invested in 61 companies over the last 13 years, with an average of 4 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 6 investments, while as of Jun 2026, it has made 6 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Wassist and most recent follow-on round was in Astral Systems.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 4 | 2 | 6 |
2025 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
2024 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
2023 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
2022 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2021 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
2020 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
2019 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2018 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2017 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Playfair Capital's Investments by Stage
Playfair Capital has made 43 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $3.11M, 5 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $9.95M and 4 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $25.3M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 43 |
Series A | 5 |
Series B | 4 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Playfair Capital's Investments by Sector
Playfair Capital has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Vertical SaaS, High Tech, Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications and FinTech. Notably, it has invested in 56 Tech companies, 48 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 41 Software companies and at least 24 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 30 |
Vertical SaaS | 17 |
High Tech | 10 |
Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications | 9 |
FinTech | 9 |
Others | 75 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Playfair Capital's Investments by Geography
Playfair Capital has made most investments in United Kingdom (33), followed by United States where it has made 4 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | 33 |
United States | 4 |
Ireland | 3 |
France | 2 |
Israel | 2 |
Others | 8 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Playfair Capital's recent investments
Playfair Capital has made 6 investments in 2026 so far. Astral Systems and Wassist are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Playfair Capital:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 23, 2026 | United Kingdom | Series A | 2565 | [+4] | |
Jun 08, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 8059 | [+2] | |
Apr 30, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 2574 | [+5] | |
Apr 23, 2026 | Netherlands | Series A | 5552 | ||
Apr 14, 2026 | Ireland | Seed | 6998 | [+1] |
Unicorns in Playfair Capital's Portfolio
Playfair Capital has 2 unicorns in its portfolio - Thought Machine and Andela. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Thought Machine. It became a unicorn in 2021, 1 years after Playfair Capital first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Playfair Capital's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | Developer of cloud native core banking and payment processing software | 2014 | London | Series D | kjjkpyi | ||
68 | Tech talent training and employment solutions provider | 2014 | New York City | Series E | wouxoav |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Playfair Capital's Portfolio
1 of Playfair Capital's portfolio company became public - CHRONEXT.Here are Playfair Capital's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- | Nov 04, 2015 | Series B | 4991 |
Acquired companies in Playfair Capital's Portfolio
13 companies from Playfair Capital's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Seldon in Jun 2026 by TrueFoundry for $*****.Here are Playfair Capital's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 27, 2026 | Jan 09, 2019 | Seed | 5026 | |
Apr 14, 2026 | Dec 15, 2020 | Seed | 1762 | |
Aug 18, 2025 | Jul 02, 2020 | Seed | 2123 | |
Jun 10, 2025 | Aug 29, 2013 | Seed | 2966 | |
Mar 11, 2025 | Apr 17, 2018 | Series B | 3748 |
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Team profile of Playfair Capital
Playfair Capital has a team of 6 members including 3 Partners, 1 Venture Partner and 1 Principal located in United Kingdom, Portugal and 1 more location. Playfair Capital's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Playfair Capital:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | United Kingdom | - | ||
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | Kenya | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Portugal | - | - | |
Principal | - | - |
Co-investors of Playfair Capital
Over the past 13 years, 393 investors have co-invested in Playfair Capital's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Playfair Capital: Techstars, Playfair Capital and 40 others have invested in rounds before Playfair Capital. There are 4 companies where Techstars has invested before Playfair Capital and 2 companies where Playfair Capital has invested before Playfair Capital.
- Top Co-investors of Playfair Capital: 185 investors entered a company along with Playfair Capital. These include investors like Entrepreneur First (5 companies).
- Invested after Playfair Capital: A total of 166 investors have invested in Playfair Capital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Octopus Ventures (5 companies), Seaya (2 companies) and CircleRock Capital (2 companies).
Recent News related to Playfair Capital
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Astral Systems Raises €26 Mn in Series A Round led by Mercia VenturesStartup Rise EU•Jun 23, 2026•Astral Systems, Mercia Ventures, Tees River, Speedinvest and 3 others
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UK HRtech Jack & Jill Secures $20M To Enter US MarketStartup Rise EU•Oct 16, 2025•Ada Ventures, Creandum, Jack & Jill AI, Mercor and 8 others
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Startup Unveils Autonomous Security Robot, Raises $4.3MIoT World Today•Sep 10, 2024•Ascento, Playfair Capital, ESA BIC Sweden
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Swiss startup NetFabric snaps $2.2M to mitigate downtime risksTech Funding News•Jul 23, 2024•NetFabric, Founderful, Playfair Capital, Net Fabric
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Insurtech Orca AI received $23 million to develop naval securityforinsurer.com•Jun 18, 2024•Orca AI, OCV Partners, MizMaa, Santa Barbara Venture Partners and 1 other
