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Chris Smith

Investor

Managing Partner at Playfair Capital

London, England, United Kingdom

Kauffman Fellow · Class 25

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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
  21. Orca AIBoard Observercurrent2019 — presentTel Aviv Area, Israel
  22. uMedInvestorcurrent2023 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
  23. uMedBoard Director2019 — 2023London, United Kingdom

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

Network1

Itxaso del PalacioMentor
General Partner at Notion Capital

Investors connected to Chris in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Chris Smith?
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.
Where does Chris Smith work?
Chris Smith is Managing Partner at Playfair Capital.
Where did Chris Smith go to school?
Chris Smith studied at UCL (Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Law); BPP Law School (LPC, Law); Berkhamsted School.

Same school

Shared employers

Also worked at Exclaim Robotics1

Felix NeubeckAssociate at Playfair Capital