Playfair Capital
Venture capitalLondon · Pre-Seed
Investment thesis
Playfair Capital invests exclusively at the pre-seed stage across the UK and Europe from its £57m Fund 3. The firm co-invests in all new investments, aiming to combine the best mix of funds and angels, and writes cheques ranging from £100k for angel rounds up to £1.5m for the largest pre-seed rounds. It reserves 60% of the fund for follow-on investments and can deploy up to £5m per company, supporting founders through to Series A. Playfair highlights a pre-seed to Series A graduation rate of 78%, roughly four times the industry average, positioning itself as a founder-friendly early-stage partner.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
What they invest in
from 30 of 62 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×18Enterprise Software ×11SaaS ×11Developer Tools ×5Fintech ×5Logistics & Supply Chain ×5HR Tech ×4Cybersecurity ×3
HQs:United Kingdom×12United States×6France×1Ireland×1Nigeria×1
Investments · 62 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path
Appear Here is a marketplace platform that connects brands, designers, and entrepreneurs with short-term retail spaces.
Enterprise SoftwareMarketplacesPropTechRetail TechLondon, GB
Ross
Continuum provides an AI-powered software platform for sustainable infrastructure planning that optimizes site selection, routing, and permitting for grid and pipeline projects.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechEnergy
Dayjob is an AI scheduling agent that integrates with job booking systems to automatically plan routes for service fleets, optimizing driver assignments based on travel times, skip sizes, and priorities.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainLondon, GB
George Postlethwaite(CEO and Co-Founder)inFred Fooks(CTO & Co-Founder)in
Jack & Jill builds AI agents to support job seekers and companies in hiring: Jack helps individuals navigate career transitions and job searches with personalized coaching, while Jill assists companies in identifying and recruiting qualified candidates.
AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkHR TechSaaSLondon, GB
Matthew Wilson(Co-founder & CEO)Saaras Mehan(Co-founder & CTO)
Refute detects and responds to disinformation campaigns on behalf of organizations using quantitative data analysis and threat modeling across multiple channels.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software
Tom Garnett(CEO & Co-Founder)Vlad Galu(CTO & Co-Founder)
Hullabalook provides software for online retailers that personalizes the shopping experience and measures performance.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail TechSaaSUK, GB
Learnerbly provides a platform for learning and development, helping organizations manage employee training, growth, and wellbeing programs.
EdTechEnterprise SoftwareHR Tech
Bjarred
Evan Nisselson(Director)Jan Erik Solem(Executive Officer, Director)
Material Evolution develops low-carbon cement using a proprietary alkali fusion process that operates at ambient temperatures, significantly reducing emissions compared to conventional cement production.
Circular EconomyClimate TechNew MaterialsBelfast, GB
Numerai operates a quantitative global equity market-neutral hedge fund built on a data science tournament, where participants build machine learning models on obfuscated financial data to predict market targets.
AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3FintechSan Francisco, US
Andrew Weissman(Director of the Issuer.)Richard Craib(Managing Member of the Issuer.)
On Device Research provides Brand Lift measurement that helps advertisers and media partners measure campaign performance, improve media planning, and enhance ad targeting across online and offline media.
AdTechData & InfrastructureMarketing Tech
Passionfruit is an AI-powered marketing operations platform that combines AI orchestration with access to a network of vetted freelance marketing talent.
AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS
CybersecurityLondon, GB
San Jose, US
Robert Rosenblatt(Director)Vivek Mehra(Director)Steve Saraccino(Director)Laura Sachar(Director)John Gardner(Director)Robert Pope(Director)
RoadRunner provides tech-enabled waste and recycling services to businesses across all 50 U.S. states, using data and artificial intelligence to improve recycling rates and reduce costs.
Circular EconomyCleantechEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSPittsburgh, US
Graham Rihn(CEO + Founder)inJoel Adams(Director)Duane Woods(Director)
Sabi provides infrastructure and platform services for the distribution of goods and services across Africa's supply chain, offering businesses access to supply chain logistics, financial services, and market insights.
B2B MarketplacesData & InfrastructureFintechLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Skiller Whale delivers intensive micro-workshops led by expert practitioners to help engineering teams develop skills through hands-on learning and experiential education.
Developer ToolsEdTechEnterprise SoftwareHR Tech
Spotted Zebra provides an AI-powered interview intelligence and assessment platform that combines skills science with machine learning to help enterprise organisations identify and hire candidates based on skills rather than credentials.
AI & Machine LearningHR TechSaaS
Ian Monk(Founder)Nick Shaw(Founder)
Starship develops autonomous robots for last-mile delivery of groceries, food, and packages to customers.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationRobotics<UNKNOWN>, US
Ahti Heinla(Co-founder)Janus Friis(Co-founder)Lex Bayer(Executive Officer, Director)Mark Dyne(Director)
Trezy provides financial management software for businesses, offering real-time cash flow tracking with AI-powered forecasting, performance analytics and KPIs, break-even analysis, invoice and receipt management, multi-bank transaction sync with categorization, and supplier cost intelligence.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaS
Valarian builds ACRA, an infrastructure platform for organizations requiring high levels of control, privacy, and compliance in their digital environments.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareLondon, GB
Max Buchan(Co-founder & CEO)Josh McLaughlin(Co-founder & COO)
Principals & officers · per Companies House
what is this? ⓘLLP designated member · since 2013
Corporate LLP designated member · since 2013
Federico Pietro Alessandro Pirzio-Biroli — 75–100% of voting rights, right to share surplus assets 75 to 100 percent limited liability partnership, right to appoint and remove members limited liability partnership
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Playfair Capital invest at?
- Playfair Capital invests at the Pre-Seed stage.
- What is Playfair Capital's typical check size?
- Playfair Capital typically writes checks of $130K – $1.9M.
- What sectors does Playfair Capital focus on?
- Playfair Capital focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Fintech, Marketplaces, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Playfair Capital located?
- Playfair Capital is headquartered in London, GB.
- Does Playfair Capital lead rounds?
- Yes, Playfair Capital leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamEUVC #212 Chris Smith, Playfair Capital - YouTube
The European VC · Chris Smith
EUVC #14 Chris Smith, Playfair Capital - YouTube
EUVC · Chris Smith
Co-investors · 35
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that backs founders globally, supported by a community of founders and operators as LPs.
DCVC (Data Collective) is a venture capital firm that backs founders building companies which apply technology to major challenges across areas such as energy, biotech, agriculture, and machine learning.
Atomico is an international venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage technology companies across multiple geographies. The firm focuses on scaling disruptive technology businesses globally.
Accel-KKR is an investor in enterprise software companies that has operated for 25 years, providing resources and expertise to help companies advance.
DN Capital is a global early-stage venture firm founded in 2000, investing in Seed, Series A and select Series B companies across Europe and North America.
Speedinvest is a European venture capital firm with specialist investment teams that back companies from first check to global scale, primarily focused on seed-stage investing.
Notion Capital is a European early-stage venture investor focused on business software companies, run by a team of former entrepreneurs and operators.
Passion Capital is a UK-based early-stage venture firm founded in 2011 by Stefan Glaenzer, Eileen Burbidge, and Robert Dighero, focusing on digital media and technology investments. The founding partners bring combined experience from entrepreneurial and executive roles in technology companies.
Amadeus Capital Partners is a UK-based deep tech venture capital firm founded in 1997 that invests from seed to growth stages across artificial intelligence, health, and sustainability-focused technologies.
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firstminute capital is an early-stage European venture fund that backs founders at inception, providing the first institutional cheque into companies building global technology across AI and deep tech.
305 Ventures is a founder-run venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (0 to 1) companies at the pre-seed and seed stage on a global basis.
▶23 more co-investors
BackedMolten VenturesCredo VenturesEpisode1KOMPAS VCAlbionVCNauta CapitalHaatchLOWERCARBONMizMaa VenturesSeayaWorkday VenturesStage 2 CapitalTechstart VenturesFounderfulCornerstone VCSamaipataACF InvestorsPromus VenturesRethink VenturesBrighteye VenturesOne PeakConviction VC
Firms observed investing alongside Playfair Capital, from public investor directories.
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