Playground Global is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in

deep tech Deep technology (deep tech) or hard tech is a classification of organization, or more typically startup company, with the expressed objective of providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. They present ...

and assists startups with software, hardware, machine learning, marketing, talent and design. The company was founded in 2015 by

Andy Rubin Andrew E. Rubin is an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Rubin founded Android Inc. in 2003, which was acquired by Google in 2005; Rubin served as a Google vice president for 9 years and led Google's efforts in ...

, Peter Barrett, Matt Hershenson and

Bruce Leak Bruce Leak is an American inventor and entrepreneur, and currently a co-founder at Playground Global. He was one of three co-founders of WebTV and is credited with making several major advances in the Macintosh operating system. ''Wired'' magazine ...

. Playground offers startups support with engineering, distribution, manufacturing and financing in exchange for equity. In May 2019, Playground returned Rubin's investment and removed him from management, following reports of sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred in 2013 while Rubin was an executive at

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

. His smartphone company,

Essential Products Essential Products (marketed as Essential) was an American technology company and manufacturer founded on November 9, 2015, by Andy Rubin and based in Palo Alto. The company developed, manufactured, and sold Essential Phone and accessories for ...

, remained under the Playground umbrella. The next month, Laurie Yoler joined as Playground's first female general partner; she was already serving on the boards of

Bose Bose may refer to: * Bose (crater), a lunar crater * ''Bose'' (film), a 2004 Indian Tamil film starring Srikanth and Sneha * Bose (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Bose, Italy, a ''frazioni'' in Magnano, Province of Biella ...

, Tesla and

Church & Dwight Church & Dwight is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-known brands ...

, among others. Rubin's Essential Products company failed in February 2020, prompting a rebuild of Playground Global.

Significant investments

Playground Global has raised $800 million across two funds, starting with $300 million in 2015 from its limited partners including

, HP,

Foxconn Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New T ...

Redpoint Ventures Redpoint Ventures is an American venture capital firm focused on investments in seed, early and growth-stage companies. History The firm was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angel ...

Seagate Technology Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquart ...

and

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...

, among others. This was followed by $500 million raised during Fund II in 2016. In June 2015, Playground Global was part of a $20.5 million series A funding round for

Nervana Systems Nervana Systems was an artificial intelligence software company based in San Diego, California, and Palo Alto, California. The company provided a full-stack software-as-a-service platform called Nervana Cloud that enabled businesses to develop cus ...

, an AI software company acquired by

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

in 2016. In 2017, Playground Global backed

Owl Labs Owl Labs is a company that makes 360° video conferencing devices called the "Meeting Owl", the "Meeting Owl Pro" and the "Meeting Owl 3." It was founded in 2014 by robotics experts Max Makeev and Mark Schnittman. It raised a total of $7.3M in ...

, a conferencing devices company, with $1.3 million in seed money. In December 2017, Playground Global led a seed round of $5.7 million for FarmWise to commercialize its automated weeding robot and to continue building autonomous systems which can harvest food for farmers. Playground's Bruce Leak also joined their board of directors. In March 2018, Playground Global led a $35 million funding round for

Relativity Space Relativity Space is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles and ...

, a startup that develops small launch vehicles with the use of 3-D printing technologies. Playground's Jory Bell joined Relativity's board. In November 2018, Playground Global led a $30 million Series B Funding round for RapidSOS, an emergency response data provider.

References

{{Reflist Financial services companies established in 2015 Companies based in Palo Alto, California Venture capital firms of the United States