About Playfair Capital
Playfair Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2013. It is primarily based out of London, United Kingdom. As of Sep 2026, Playfair Capital is an active investor, having invested in 66 companies, with 8 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 $***** Seed round of Fusionality Overall, Playfair Capital portfolio has seen 2 unicorns, 1 IPO and 14 acquisitions including key companies like OnFleet, Seldon and Recycleye. A lot of funds co-invest with Playfair Capital, with names like Entrepreneurs First sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Playfair Capital has team of 10 people including 5 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Deals in last 12 months
Playfair Capital's List of Top Investments
Playfair Capital has a portfolio of 66 companies, including 2 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Zero Look and uMed.Their portfolio spans across United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland 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:1. OnFleet
Cloud based last mile delivery management software. It is a software platform that provides solutions for optimizing and managing last-mile delivery operations. It allows users to monitor the metrics and visualize the success rates, service times, feedback scores, distance travelled, and more. Features include route planning, driver assignment, real-time tracking, report creation, analytics, and more.
Key facts about OnFleet
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $44.8M
- Employee Count: 91 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Rising Tide Fund, StartX and 27 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Jun 07, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
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)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $281M
- Employee Count: 459 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: K2 Global, Mercedes-Benz and 40 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Oct 15, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. 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)
- Annual Revenue: £1M - £10M as on Mar 31, 2025
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $39.1M
- Employee Count: 87 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Bright Pixel Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital and 26 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Mar 16, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
4. Recycleye
Developer of AI-powered robotic waste sorting and analytics equipment solutions. The company provides equipment that can be retrofitted into existing waste management facilities. It offers solutions for sorting various materials, including plastics, non-ferrous metals, fiber, cartons, and WEEE. The company aims to improve profitability and purity in waste sorting operations.
Key facts about Recycleye
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $23.4M
- Employee Count: 113 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: MMC Ventures, DCVC and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Oct 02, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
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: 166 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Molten Ventures, Dust Road Ventures and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jul 15, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Playfair Capital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Playfair Capital has invested in 66 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 Sep 2026, it has made 9 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Fusionality and most recent follow-on round was in Astral Systems.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 7 | 2 | 9 |
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 46 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $3.14M, 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 | 46 |
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 Consumer. Notably, it has invested in 61 Tech companies, 53 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 46 Software companies and at least 27 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 33 |
Vertical SaaS | 17 |
High Tech | 12 |
Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications | 11 |
Consumer | 9 |
Others | 80 |
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 (34), followed by Switzerland where it has made 4 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | 34 |
Switzerland | 4 |
United States | 4 |
France | 2 |
Ireland | 2 |
Others | 8 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Playfair Capital's recent investments
Playfair Capital has made 9 investments in 2026 so far. Fusionality and Zero Look 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 09, 2026 | - | Seed | 6553 | ||
Aug 11, 2026 | Switzerland | Seed | 7900 | [+2] | |
Jul 24, 2026 | Switzerland | Seed | 4374 | ||
Jun 23, 2026 | United Kingdom | Series A | 2277 | [+4] | |
Jun 08, 2026 | United Kingdom | Seed | 4230 | [+2] |
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 integrated payments infrastructure | 2014 | London | Series D | refzmau | ||
64 | Tech talent training and employment solutions provider | 2014 | New York City | Series E | erzoopl |
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 | 5516 |
Acquired companies in Playfair Capital's Portfolio
14 companies from Playfair Capital's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was That's The One.Here are Playfair Capital's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 06, 2026 | - | - | 6592 | |
Jun 24, 2026 | Jan 09, 2019 | Seed | 7469 | |
Apr 14, 2026 | Dec 15, 2020 | Seed | 5005 | |
Aug 18, 2025 | Jul 02, 2020 | Seed | 8788 | |
Jun 10, 2025 | Aug 29, 2013 | Seed | 3180 |
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Team profile of Playfair Capital
Playfair Capital has a team of 10 members including 5 Partners 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 | London | - | ||
Partner | London | - | - | |
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | Lisbon | - | - | |
Partner | Kenya | - | - | |
Principal | London | - |
Co-investors of Playfair Capital
Over the past 13 years, 401 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: 187 investors entered a company along with Playfair Capital. These include investors like Entrepreneurs First (5 companies).
- Invested after Playfair Capital: A total of 172 investors have invested in Playfair Capital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Octopus Ventures (5 companies), Seaya (2 companies) and Molten Ventures (2 companies).
Recent News related to Playfair Capital
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Fusionality Raises $3.7M Pre-Seed Funding for Fusion Reactor Control SoftwareThe SaaS News•Sep 10, 2026•Fusionality, Playfair Capital, Founderful
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Zerolook Raises €1.6 Million Pre-Seed Funding to Modernize Flight Search Technology for Travel BusinessesStartup Rise EU•Aug 11, 2026•Vento, TrueSight Ventures, Playfair Capital
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Exclaim Robotics Exits Stealth With €4.29 Million for AI Data Centre Maintenance RobotsEU-Startups•Aug 04, 2026•Founderful, Playfair Capital
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Ex-Google and NVIDIA roboticist raises $5M for AI data centre repair robotsTech Funding News•Aug 04, 2026•Founderful, 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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Otel AI raises €2m to scale AI co-worker platform for hotels, bringing total funding to €2.8m within six months of launchHospitality Net•Apr 14, 2026•otelai.com, Nebular, Playfair Capital
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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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StackOne: $20 Million Series A Raised To Transform SaaS And AI Agent IntegrationsPulse 2.0•May 12, 2025•StackOne, Google Ventures, Workday Ventures, XTX Markets and 2 others
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DeepTech startup Astral Systems raises €5.3 million to commercialise fusion technologyZephyrnet•Feb 06, 2025•Astral Systems, Speedinvest, Playfair Capital, Astral Systems and 3 others
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Refute secures £2.3M to protect businesses from coordinated disinformation campaignsTech.eu•Dec 13, 2024•Episode 1 Ventures, Notion, Amadeus Capital, Refute and 1 other
