Active

Playground Global

General contacts

Investor type

VC / PE

Founded

2015

AUM

$1 700 M

Location

Palo Alto, California, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Late Stage (Series C+) Series B Series A Seed Pre-seed

Region of investment

North America Europe Asia Australia and others

Investor profile last updated: 23 August, 2026

Profile

Playground Global is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, founded in 2015 by Peter Barrett, Bruce Leak, and Matt Hershenson, with Andy Rubin having departed in 2019. The firm is run by four general partners: Peter Barrett, Bruce Leak, Jory Bell, and Pat Gelsinger, the former CEO of Intel and VMware who joined in 2025. They bring deep technical expertise from their experience in software, hardware, and semiconductor industries, making Playground a distinct choice for deep-tech investments.

Playground Global specializes in early-stage investments in deep-tech sectors, focusing on next-generation compute, automation and robotics, energy transition involving advanced nuclear power and modular reactors, and AI-augmented biology. The firm typically invests as a lead or first investor in pre-seed to Series A rounds, with historical investments suggesting multi-million-dollar check sizes. Total assets under management amount to $1.7 billion across its four flagship funds.

Notable portfolio companies include PsiQuantum - utility-scale quantum computing, Agility Robotics - humanoid robots, Ayar Labs - silicon photonic interconnects, d-Matrix - AI inference silicon, and NextSilicon - reconfigurable compute. Past successful exits include MosaicML, acquired by Databricks for $1.3B, and eero, acquired by Amazon. Playground's portfolio focus gives them a strategic advantage in attracting follow-on capital and technical founders.

Industry

Quantum Computing Semiconductors / Chips Deeptech HealthTech Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Energy AI Nuclear / Fusion Software Robotics Industrial Healthcare Services Biotechnology Aerospace Technology Infrastructure Security Transportation

Playground Global Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Playground Global Fund I	Venture Capital (VC)	Aerospace Biotechnology Healthcare Services Robotics Technology Infrastructure Deeptech	Pre-seed Seed	North America Europe	$5-10 m	$300 M	August 2015
Playground Global Fund II	Venture Capital (VC)	Aerospace Healthcare Services Industrial Robotics Infrastructure Deeptech	Pre-seed Seed	North America Europe	$5-10 m	$450 M	October 2018
Playground Global Fund IV	Venture Capital (VC)	Aerospace Robotics Technology Infrastructure Biotechnology AI Energy Internet of Things (IoT) Semiconductors / Chips Quantum Computing	Pre-seed Seed Series A	North America Europe	$5-10 m	$475 M	April 2026
Playground Ventures Fund III	Venture Capital (VC)	Healthcare Services Robotics Security Software Transportation Energy HealthTech	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$410 M	December 2023

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Benjamin Kim Partner

Partner

b•••@•••

Jon Carter Venture Partner

Venture Partner

j•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Playground Global — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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FAQs about Playground Global

Is Playground Global a venture capital or private equity firm?

Playground Global is a venture capital and private equity firm. It backs companies at Late Stage (Series C+), Series B, Series A, Seed and Pre-seed, writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Playground Global located?

Playground Global is located in Palo Alto, California, United States.

When was Playground Global founded?

Playground Global was founded in 2015.

What sectors and industries does Playground Global invest in?

Playground Global invests in companies and startups in Quantum Computing, Semiconductors / Chips, Deeptech, HealthTech, Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, Energy, AI, Nuclear / Fusion, Software, Robotics, Industrial, Healthcare Services, Biotechnology, Aerospace, Technology, Infrastructure, Security, Transportation.

What is Playground Global geographical focus of investments?

Playground Global invests in companies and startups in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and others.

At what stages of companies and startups does Playground Global typically invest in?

Playground Global invests in companies and startups at Late Stage (Series C+), Series B, Series A, Seed, Pre-seed.

What is the usual amount of Playground Global investment?

Playground Global usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Playground Global?

Playground Global has around $1 700m assets under management.

When was Playground Global last fund created?

Playground Global last fund was created/launched in 2026-05-22

What are the contacts of Playground Global?

Playground Global can be reached through its website playground.global, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is [email protected]. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Playground Global — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

Can I access Playground Global data via API or MCP?

Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Playground Global directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Playground Global profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 23 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.