Fundraising Fox

Chris Smith

Investor

Managing Partner at Playfair Capital

London, England, United Kingdom

About

Chris Smith is Managing Partner at Playfair and a Kauffman Fellow (Class 25) who invests in pre-seed opportunities across the UK and Europe, with particular focus on robotics, autonomous transportation, automation, HealthTech, and B2B SaaS. Previously, he spent five years at plan.com in senior operational roles including Sales Director and Head of Product Development, where he built the sales function and oversaw platform development as revenues grew to £60 million. Smith has executed 15 angel investments since 2008 with six exits including SuperAwesome, Compology, and Bidstack, and earlier spent nearly a decade as a transactional lawyer at Weil advising on acquisitions and restructurings for private equity and venture capital firms.

Experience

  1. PlayfairManaging Partnercurrent2018 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  2. Kauffman FellowsFellow (Class 25)current2020 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
  3. ForbesContributorcurrent2020 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  4. Exclaim RoboticsInvestorcurrent2026 — presentZurich, Switzerland
  5. ZerolookInvestorcurrent2026 — presentZurich, Switzerland
  6. Otel AIObservercurrent2025 — presentDublin, County Dublin, Ireland
  7. NetFabric.aiInvestorcurrent2024 — presentZurich, Switzerland
  8. AscentoInvestorcurrent2023 — presentZurich, Switzerland
  9. FENKA RoboticsInvestorcurrent2023 — presentBerlin Metropolitan Area
  10. Material EvolutionInvestorcurrent2026 — present
  11. Material EvolutionBoard Observer2023 — 2026Middlesbrough
  12. QureightBoard Directorcurrent2023 — presentCambridge, England, United Kingdom
  13. YASOBoard Directorcurrent2022 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  14. WorldrInvestorcurrent2021 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  15. NoryBoard Observercurrent2021 — presentDublin, County Dublin, Ireland
  16. AeroCloud SystemsBoard Directorcurrent2020 — presentAlderley Edge, England, United Kingdom
  17. HekaInvestorcurrent2022 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  18. HekaBoard Director2020 — 2022United Kingdom
  19. Continuum IndustriesBoard Directorcurrent2020 — presentEdinburgh City, Scotland, United Kingdom
  20. Sprout.aiInvestorcurrent2020 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom

Education

  1. UCLBachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Law2001 — 2004
  2. BPP Law SchoolLPC, Law2004 — 2005
  3. Berkhamsted School1995 — 2000

Skills & more

InvestmentsEntrepreneurshipMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)LegalStartupsAngel InvestingSalesVenture Capital

From Chris's professional profile.

Colleagues at Playfair Capital

Alex Jundi
Visiting Analyst at Playfair Capital
Andrew Sheffield
Principal at Playfair Capital
Anouska Moss
Executive Assistant at Playfair Capital
Deanne Saunders
Receptionist & Office Manager at Playfair Capital
Federico Pirzio-Biroli
Founding Partner & Chairman at Playfair Capital
Felix Neubeck
Associate at Playfair Capital
Henrik Wetter Sanchez
General Partner at Playfair Capital
Lucia Polverino
Associate at Playfair Capital

Frequently asked questions

Where does Chris Smith work?
Chris Smith is Managing Partner at Playfair Capital.

Same school

Also attended UCL377

André DuboisInvestor at Index VenturesFrédérique DameInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Jonas VetterleInvestor at Moonfire VenturesMarie FerriInvestor at DaphniElena PantaziPartner & Head of Platform at NorthzoneGiovanni MariggiInvestor at Medicxi

+ 371 more

Also attended BPP Law School45

Joseph StolermanInvestor at Index VenturesChen Yang SiaGeneral Counsel at Golden Gate VenturesGiles Johnstone-ScottInvestor at MedicxiTony LaiInvestor at StartXKieran RafterPrincipal at Marlin Equity PartnersKeji MustaphaChief Marketing Officer at Partech Ventures

+ 39 more

Also attended Berkhamsted School3

Phil Edmondson-JonesPartner at OxxNigel SmithBusiness Development Executive - Jersey at OakglenGautham RadhakrishnanNon-Exec Chairman at Nodem Capital

Shared employers

Also worked at Kauffman Fellows366

Jenny LeeSenior Managing Partner at Granite AsiaTobi CokerDeal Partner at Felicis VenturesRoi Bar-KatManaging Director at Intel CapitalAvi BharadwajInvestment Director at Intel CapitalNick WashburnSenior Managing Director, Intel Capital (North America)Vinnie LauriaFounding Partner at Golden Gate Ventures

+ 360 more

Also worked at Otel AI2

Fiona KellyCo-Founder at BaselineEamon LeonardCo-Founder at Baseline

Also worked at NetFabric.ai1

Henrik Wetter SanchezGeneral Partner at Playfair Capital

Also worked at Hullabalook2

Theo WetheredPrincipal at Nauta CapitalRobert DigheroFounding Partner at Passion Capital