Playfair Capital
| Industry | Venture Capital |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013; 12 years ago |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Federico Pirzio-Biroli, Chris Smith, Henrik Wetter Sanchez |
Number of employees | 10 |
| Website | playfair |
Playfair Capital is a British venture capital firm, focused exclusively on pre-seed investing. The headquarters are located in 8 Warner Yard, Clerkenwell, London.[1]
Their high-conviction, low-volume approach leads Playfair to invest in 6-8 startups per year[2] across all sectors and verticals, as long as there is a technology element. Their geographical focus is on the UK and Europe.
History
Playfair Capital was founded in 2013 by Federico Pirzio-Biroli.[3] The company is incorporated as Playfair Capital LLP with registered office in London.[4] Playfair Capital was realised out of the angel investing career of Federico Pirzio-Biroli which began two years prior in 2011. He had made 21 investments[5] during that time while serving as an angel investor-in-residence in White Bear Yard.[6]
Playfair Capital has invested in three companies that have achieved unicorn status; Stripe, Andela and Thought Machine. Other portfolio firms have raised follow-on rounds or achieved acquisitions, including AeroCloud Systems, which raised US $12.6 million in 2023, and Ravelin Technology, announced for acquisition by Worldpay in 2025.[7]
In 2016, Playfair Capital announced its decision to close the co-working business at Warner Yard, its London-based office building and previous office of Techstars London.[8][9] The co-working space operation transitioned to a single-tenant leasing model, with the top floor retained for Playfair's own use.[10]
The Female Founder Office Hours (FFOH) initiative, launched in 2019 by Playfair Capital, is a programme oriented to female-led, technology-based companies headquartered in Europe.[11][12] Each edition of this initiative matches participating female founders with investors for one-to-one mentoring or pitching sessions. For example, one edition brought together over 300 founders and 200 investors.[13] Applications for the initiative require that the company is tech-based, headquartered in Europe, women-led, and generally in the pre-Series A stage.[14] In previous editions, Playfair have held the initiative with other partners including Google for Startups and Tech Nation.[15]
The fund has made over 120 investments.[16] Some publicly mentioned companies include Ravelin,[17] Thought Machine,[18] ProtexAI,[19] Nory,[20] Orca AI,[21] AeroCloud Systems[22] and StackOne.[23]
Team
Playfair Capital's leadership includes Managing Partner Chris Smith,[24] and General Partner, Henrik Wetter Sanchez.[25]
Funding
Playfair Capital's original funding came from its founder Federico Pirzio-Biroli and his previous activities. In March 2019, Playfair Capital raised a new $32 million fund,[26] where Pirzio-Biroli was sole LP,[27] to continue investing in promising early-stage tech startups. In March 2023, Playfair closed $70m for its pre-seed fund,[28][29][30] taking its total raised to $102m.
Exits
- Trouva (acquired by MADE.com in May 2022[31][32])
- Mapillary (acquired by Meta Platforms, Inc. in June 2020[33])
- CryptoFacilities (acquired by Kraken in February 2019[34][35])
- Acasa (acquired by Goodlord in October 2021[36])
- Jukedeck (acquired by Bytedance in July 2019[37])
- Hassle.com (acquired by Helpling in July 2015[38][39])
- Gluru (acquired by Dialpad in September 2021[40])
- Ravelin (acquired by Worldpay, transaction announced February 2025[41])
- Omnipresent (acquired by Deel, in October 2025[42])
References
- ^ "PLAYFAIR CAPITAL LLP overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Playfair Capital - Innovate UK Business Connect". Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Loritz, Mary (2019-03-07). "UK-based VC Playfair Capital launches its second €28 million seed fund as it continues its search for ambitious founders". EU-Startups. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "PLAYFAIR CAPITAL LLP overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ Fellows, Kauffman. "Federico Pirzio-Biroli". Kauffman Fellows.
- ^ "Part 2 of The Silicon 60: the top talent on London's start-up scene". The Standard. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Latham Advises Worldpay on Acquisition of Ravelin Technology". www.lw.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Hesse, Jason (2013-04-29). "TechStars London to set up in new co-working space Warner Yard - Tech City News". UKTN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Souza, Mariella de (2013-05-31). "Meet the new faces of Warner Yard - Tech City News". UKTN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Cook, James. "The founder of one of London's best-known VC funds is moving to Africa and closing his coworking space". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Female Founder Office Hours: The story and what happens next - Maddyness UK". Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Burroughs, Callum. "Female founders get just 1% of VC funding. Now 30 startup investors will hold free office hours while stuck at home during COVID-19 to try and redress the balance". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Zhang, Clare (2024-09-25). "Female Founder Office Hours (FFOH) launches 12th Edition, uniting 200 European VCs to tackle gender..." Medium. Archived from the original on 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Applications for Edition 11 of Female Founder Office Hours are officially open! | Invest in Women Hub". iiwhub.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Paul, Megha (2021-10-13). "Playfair Capital, Tech Nation and Google for Startups launch Europe's largest-ever fundraising for female founders". UKTN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Playfair Capital Portfolio Investments, Playfair Capital Funds, Playfair Capital Exits". www.cbinsights.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Ravelin announces £8M Series B to help secure online commerce from the growing threat of fraud". Ravelin. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Press Office, Thought Machine (2020-03-02). "Thought Machine raises $83m in Series B funding". Thought Machine.
- ^ Wetter Sanchez, Henrik (2022-08-30). "Why we invested in Protex AI". Playfair Capital. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
- ^ "$7.7m Seed Funding Announcement | Nory — Nory". www.nory.ai. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Orca AI Raises $23 Million to Propel Autonomous Shipping". Orca AI. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Srivastava, Akansha (2021-05-05). "Exclusive: AeroCloud Systems raises $1.7M from Playfair Capital to take on aviation giants". UKTN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Exclusive: GV backs AI startup StackOne in $20m funding round". Sifted. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Chris Smith - Playfair Capital | Elevating Founders Speaker". tmt.knect365.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ VC, Playfair Capital. "Playfair Capital Team". Playfair Capital. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
- ^ FinSMEs (2019-03-07). "Playfair Capital Launches $32M Second Fund". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ O'Hear, Steve (March 7, 2019). "Playfair Capital, the UK-based seed firm, announces $32M second fund". TechCrunch.
- ^ Sawers, Paul (March 27, 2023). "'High conviction, low volume': Playfair launches $70M pre-seed fund for European startups". TechCrunch.
- ^ "London's Playfair Capital returns for the hat trick, this time with $70 million". Tech.eu. 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "VC Funding - Page 62 of 190". UKTN. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Made.com buys online boutique platform Trouva". Proactiveinvestors UK. 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Bowden, Grace. "Made.com acquires Trouva as it 'accelerates' marketplace ambitions". Retail Week. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Paul, Katie (2020-06-19). "Facebook acquires crowdsourced mapping company Mapillary". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
- ^ "Kraken Acquires Futures Startup In Deal Worth At Least $100 Million". www.coindesk.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Kraken acquires crypto trading platform Crypto Facilities in a nine-figure deal". The Block. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "UK proptech Goodlord acquires fintech app acasa that allows tenants to split costs; here's why - Silicon Canals". 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Ingham, Tim (2019-07-23). "TikTok owner Bytedance buys AI music company Jukedeck". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "A clean exit: Helpling acquires Hassle.com for €32 million to dominate on-demand cleaner space". Tech.eu. 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Newenham, Pamela. "Irish-founded cleaning start-up Hassle.com acquired for €32m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Dialpad". Golden. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ Muhn (@julieschicktanz), Julie (2025-02-05). "Worldpay Acquires Ravelin to Help Merchants Battle Fraud". Finovate. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ "Goodwin Advises Omnipresent in Acquisition by Deel | News & Events | Goodwin". www.goodwinlaw.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.