How does PNP create technology investment opportunities?
Corporate Innovation
PNP at a Glance:
250+
Investments per year
Investments per year
40+
Unicorns
Unicorns
$40B+
Portfolio raised
Portfolio raised
$50K
Minimum check size
Minimum check size
$2.5M
Maximum check size
Maximum check size
PNP's Unicorns
Deeptech
Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands focuses on driving digital property rights via NFTs and gaming to help build the open metaverse.
Enterprise & AI
ApplyBoard
ApplyBoard is a SaaS-enabled marketplace making it easy for international students to find matched programs and apply to top universities.
Energy
BigID
BigID offers a data intelligence platform that enables organizations to discover, manage, govern, protect, and derive value from their data across security, compliance, privacy, and AI domains.
Energy
Blockdaemon
Blockdaemon is the provider of a blockchain nodes as a service platform designed to empower businesses to simply and efficiently manage blockchain applications.
Fintech
Cloudwalk
CloudWalk is a digital payment acquirer
Enterprise & AI
Course Hero
Course Hero is an online learning platform with study resources that help students feel confident and prepared, from day one to graduation.
Brand & Retail
Dropbox
Dropbox provides secure file sharing, collaboration, and storage solutions.
Mobility & Physical AI
Einride
Einride provides autonomous and all-electric freight transportation.
Energy
Esusu Financial
They create digital tools and services that help people: 1) become more financially resilient, and 2) boost their credit scores.
Fiscal Note
FiscalNote is a better way for organizations to manage the state, federal, and international issues that affect them most.
Energy
Flexiv Robotics
Flexiv is a global leading robotics and AI company, focusing on developing and manufacturing adaptive robots which integrate force control, computer vision and AI technologies.
Fintech
Flutterwave
Flutterwave is a payment technology company focused on providing seamless and secure payment experiences anywhere in the world, including Africa.
Travel & Hospitality
Flyr
FLYR is the data science company that leverages machine learning to create the next generation pricing and offer management systems for airlines and travel providers worldwide.
Guardant Health
Guardant Health is committed to positively and significantly impacting patient health through technology breakthroughs in oncology.
Energy
Hippo
Hippo offers intuitive and proactive home insurance by taking a smarter, tech-driven approach.
Honey
Consumer software company that automates deal and product discovery.
Insurtech
Kustomer
The first platform built around the customer, bringing together everything you need to serve your customers better in one easy-to-use place.
Fintech
Lending Club
Lending Club is an online financial community that brings together creditworthy borrowers and savvy investors.
Brand & Retail
Manscaped
Create a dynamic educational movement and culture focused on the importance of men’s health, hygiene, and refinement.
Crypto & Digital Assets
Mesh
The leading crypto payments network
Fintech
N26
N26 is a Berlin-based fintech company that enables its customers to manage their bank accounts through their smartphones.
Health & Longevity
Owkin
Owkin combines life-science and machine learning expertise to make drug development and clinical trial design more targeted and more cost effective. Owkin's machine learning algorithms create models that predict disease evolution and treatment outcomes.
Fintech
PayPal
PayPal provides online payment solutions to its users worldwide.
Fintech
Quantenna Communications
Quantenna is a global leader and innovator of leading-edge performance Wi-Fi solutions.
Food & Beverage
Rappi
Rappi is a marketplace that connects users who want to purchase prepared foods, groceries, clothes, and more.
Supply Chain
Shippo
Shippo helps businesses navigate the complexities of shipping.
Media & Advertising
SoundHound
SoundHound is an innovator in voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technologies.
Mobility & Physical AI
Tractable
We apply AI to assess, repair and protect cars and homes.
Fintech
Truebill
Truebill is the first platform that allows users to find, track and manage their subscription services and recurring bills.
Fintech
Trulioo
Trulioo, the leading global identity & business verification service, provides instant electronic identity & business verification for 5 billion people and 250 million companies worldwide.
Health & Longevity
Visby Medical
A device platform that aims to redefine the way we test and treat illness
Enterprise & AI
Zama
End-to-end encryption for AI
Technology investment opportunities
How PNP Invests in Startups
PNP is one of the most active investors in the world, with over 250 investments per year. The unique strategy: raise vertical funds almost exclusively from partners, so LPs are the customers of the companies in which they invest.
Pre-Seed Direct Investment
Early-stage companies. Think of two co-founders with an idea. PNP’s Ventures team invests at the pre-seed and seed stage, before most institutional investors are willing to commit. This is the “patient capital” end of the model: backing founders before their theses are proven and using Plug and Play’s corporate network to help validate and accelerate their businesses.
PNP's technology investment opportunities
Dedicated Vertical Funds
PNP raises dedicated vertical funds almost exclusively from corporate partners, giving those partners LP status in the fund. These funds invest in the hottest Series A and Series B companies around the globe across verticals such as Fintech, Sustainability, Supply Chain, Brand & Retail, and Financial Services. The LP-as-customer strategy means corporate investors have a direct incentive to adopt and commercialize portfolio company solutions.
Hear what PNP's unicorns have to say
ApplyBoard Providing Easy Access to a Global Education
BigID Early Struggles to Global Compliance Company
Blockdaemon Building a Blockchain Infrastructure Platform
CloudWalk Revolutionizing Payment Networks
FiscalNote From Basement to Billion-Dollar Glory
Flutterwave Africa’s Top Payment Infrastructure Goes Global
FLYR Labs Aviation, AI, and a Billion Dollar Journey
Visby Medical Life-Changing Experience to Unicorn Status
Zama Bringing Confidentiality to Blockchain
First Meeting
A member of the Ventures team or broader PNP staff meets the company at an event, through a referral, or via Playbook, and sees potential fit.
Pipeline Meeting
The company is brought to an internal pipeline meeting, where one of the partners vets whether the company warrants full due diligence.
Customer Reference Checks
Before deeper analysis, PNP may introduce the company to corporate partners to validate market demand, e.g., introducing a fintech to 10 banks before committing capital.
Full Due Diligence
Market analysis, team backgrounds and bios, cap table analysis, market research, and unit economics, all evaluated to determine if this is the right deal to take to the IC.
Investment Committee
The deal is presented to the Investment Committee, which meets twice per week. The IC reviews the full diligence package and votes on whether to invest.
Portfolio Onboarding & Support
Once invested, the company joins the portfolio and gains access to PNP’s corporate network for revenue generation, global market support, and VC introductions.
Value Beyond the Check: How PNP Supports Portfolio Companies
Explore All Investments ->Revenue Generation
Warm introductions to 550+ partners who are potential enterprise customers, and in many cases, LPs in the same fund. Portfolio companies get paying customers, not just advisors.
Global Market Support
PNP’s 60+ global locations and regional partner networks help portfolio companies enter markets they couldn’t reach on their own, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to Europe.
VC Network Access
Introductions to PNP’s network of 200+ venture capital firms for follow-on rounds. When PNP invested in Dropbox, it introduced the company to Sequoia Capital, which led the Series A.
Ecosystem Exposure
Stage time at Summits attended by 3K+ stakeholders, features in PNP’s content and research, and access to a community of 35K+ alumni, advisors, and innovators globally.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is PNP different from a traditional venture capital firm?
Several key differences distinguish PNP from traditional VCs:
• LPs as customers: Traditional VCs raise from institutional investors (endowments, pension funds, family offices) who have no commercial relationship with portfolio companies. Plug and Play raises from corporate partners who are the target enterprise customers of its B2B SaaS portfolio, creating a built-in commercialization channel that traditional VCs cannot offer.
• Corporate network as due diligence: Before investing, Plug and Play can introduce a company to 10 banks, track follow-up rates and pilot conversions, and use that as an investment signal. This real-world market validation is impossible without the corporate ecosystem.
• Volume & speed: With 250+ investments per year and an IC that meets twice weekly, Plug and Play operates at a cadence far exceeding most traditional VCs.
• Accelerator integration: Investment and acceleration are deeply linked — the same corporate partners that co-select accelerator cohorts are the LPs evaluating investment opportunities.
What is PNP's investment process from first meeting to decision?
As described by the Ventures team, the process has six stages:
• First meeting: A Ventures team member or a PNP staff member meets the company at an event, through a referral, or via Playbook and identifies a potential fit.
• Pipeline meeting: The company is brought to an internal pipeline meeting where a partner vets whether it warrants due diligence.
• Customer reference checks: Before deeper analysis, the company may be introduced to corporate partners to test market demand. Follow-up rates and pilot conversions become investment signals.
• Full due diligence: Market analysis, team backgrounds and bios, cap table analysis, market research, and unit economics, all evaluated together.
• Investment Committee: The fully diligenced deal is presented to the IC, which meets twice per week and approves 5–10 deals each week.
• Portfolio onboarding: Once invested, the company is onboarded into PNP’s network for revenue generation, global support, and VC introductions.
How often does PNP's Investment Committee meet, and how many deals does it approve?
The Investment Committee meets twice per week and approves 5–10 new deals per week. This cadence reflects PNP’s position as one of the most active investors globally, with 250+ investments per year; a monthly IC cadence common at traditional VCs would create a severe bottleneck.
The twice-weekly IC structure also means founders receive faster decisions. Once due diligence is complete, the path to investment approval is measured in days, not months.