How does PNP's technology scouting services work?
Corporate Innovation
PNP in numbers
25+
Industries
Industries
60+
Locations
Locations
550+
Partners
Partners
100K+
Startups
Startups
Startup Sourcing, Ventures, & Playbook
PNP’s Ventures team delivers end-to-end technology scouting services, gathering each corporate partner’s tech interests, then actively sourcing, screening, and investing in startups that meet those partners’ innovation needs across 25+ sectors. Every connection is powered by Playbook, a proprietary platform housing 100K+ pre-vetted startups.
100K+ startups in Playbook
2.5K+ investments made
$1B+ AUM
40+ unicorns
PNP's Technology Scouting Services
How PNP connects startups to corporate partners
Our Ventures team follows a clear, repeatable logic: understand the corporation’s pain point, define the tech interest areas, source the right startup, make the introduction, and drive toward a deal outcome.
Corporate Pain Point
A corporate partner comes to PNP with a specific innovation challenge, e.g., a bank wants to attract Gen Z customers to its platform.
Tech Interest Areas
PNP gathers the corporation’s tech interest areas: the specific technology domains and solution types that could address their need.
Active Sourcing
The Ventures team sources through events, VC networks, and Playbook (100K+ pre-vetted startups) to find companies that meet the defined need.
Curated Introduction
The most relevant startup is connected to the corporate partner. The introduction is targeted, not broadcast, quality over volume.
Deal Outcome
The connection results in a licensing deal, a pilot project, an investment, or an acquisition, depending on the maturity and fit of the relationship.
The ventures model defined
Ventures Team
PNP’s Ventures team is an internal team of investment professionals responsible for actively sourcing, screening, and investing in startups. The Ventures team operates across 25+ industry verticals, attending events, leveraging VC connections, and using Playbook to identify companies that meet the specific innovation needs of corporate partners. As one of the most active early-stage VCs globally, the team evaluates thousands of startups per year for both investment and corporate matchmaking. According to PitchBook’s 2025 global league tables, PNP ranks #5 among the most active VC firms worldwide.
Technology Scouting Services
Most corporate innovation teams don’t have the capacity to scan thousands of startups, filter out the noise, and identify the ones that actually fit. That’s what PNP does.
PNP’s Ventures team begins every partnership by mapping your technology interest areas and strategic priorities. From there, we actively source, screen, and introduce startups that match your specific innovation needs. For example, a bank’s tech areas of interest might include “Gen Z digital onboarding,” “embedded finance,” and “AI-driven credit scoring.” These areas drive the startup sourcing process from day one.
Startup Screening
The process by which PNP staff evaluate startups for quality, market fit, and relevance before adding them to Playbook. Only pre-vetted startups are added to the Playbook database, meaning the 100K+ companies on the platform have all been assessed by PNP’s team for their applicability to corporate partners’ innovation needs. Screening draws on the Ventures team’s expertise across events, VC networks, and 20 years of pattern recognition and market knowledge across 25+ industries.
Playbook
Playbook serves as the trusted digital platform behind every PNP engagement, built 100% in-house since 2019. Playbook is the operational backbone of the Ventures and accelerator teams: it houses 100K+ pre-vetted startups, tracks 400K+ collaboration touchpoints between startups and corporations, and serves 150K+ users across 60+ global locations. Partners use Playbook to browse curated dealflow, manage pilot engagements, and track outcomes from first introduction through to investment. SOC II and ISO 27001 certified.
Investment funds
PNP Ventures: The Investment Arm
PNP is one of the most active early-stage VCs globally. The Ventures team operates a suite of industry-specific funds, each backed by the same corporate partner network that powers the accelerator programs.
Our Funds
Explore All Investments ->GVA Fund
This industry-agnostic fund has invested in 200+ companies across different industries, including unicorns such as BigID and FiscalNote.
“Evaluating this many startups adds to our collective insights and gives us the opportunity to meet many unique and intelligent people who dream up the future.”
— Alireza Masrour, General Partner, Investments, Plug and Play
Scale Fund
This industry-agnostic fund backs startups from early stages through IPO, with a growing number of unicorns including Groq, Cloudwalk, and Shippo.
"What makes me most excited is getting to live in the future through the innovations portfolio entrepreneurs are building."
— Alireza Masrour, General Partner, Investments, Plug and Play
Future Commerce Fund
Focused on digital commerce and the consumer purchase path, this fund scales PNP’s Brand & Retail startups by supporting them from seed to Series C.
“This fund will help deepen our relationship with our retail corporate partners and support our portfolio companies in the later stages.”
— George Damouny, Partner, Ventures, Plug and Play
Sustainability Fund
Supporting climate-focused startups from Series Seed to Series C, this fund builds on PNP’s global Sustainability program.
“This helps Plug and Play double down on the great success of the Sustainability vertical, and scale more revolutionary startup solutions to the climate crisis.”
— Matthew Claxton, Partner, Ventures, Plug and Play
Supply Chain Fund
Targeting Series Seed to Series C investments with a focus on warehouse automation, last-mile delivery, & AI, this fund complements PNP’s Supply Chain program.
“We continue to be impressed with the flywheel Plug and Play has built to identify, validate, and invest in category-defining startups across the globe.”
— Donald Huffner, VP, RZC Investments
Financial Services Fund
Dedicated to supporting seed to Series C startups, investing in the next wave of companies transforming financial services through innovation and scale, such as unicorns like Turing.
“This fund will propel founders and provide even greater support to groundbreaking entrepreneurs within Fintech, Insurtech, and Enterprise & AI.”
— Eugenio Gonzalez, Partner, Ventures, Plug and Play
EA Ventures Fund (Spain)
This fund, launched with EA Ventures, supports Spanish startups from Series Seed to Series C in AI, fintech, mobility, and sustainability, providing funding and guidance to help them scale internationally.
“Our partnership with Plug and Play creates a unique synergy by combining their global expertise with our experience in rapidly scaling companies across different markets, enabling us to offer comprehensive support to startups in their international expansion.”
— Yerik Aubakirov, CEO, EA Group Holding
SBI Gateway Fund (Seattle)
Launched with SBI and SNBL, this co-GP fund invests in early and growth-stage North American startups in AI, healthcare, and climate tech, driving innovation in Seattle through global partnerships.
“By connecting Japanese investment with North American innovation, we are creating a unique bridge that will empower startups with not only capital but also strategic guidance and industry connections.”
— Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President, & CEO, SBI Holdings
Japan Fund
This fund supports pre-seed to Series C startup in Japan and select global ventures. Its mission is to develop top tech leaders by connecting them to international markets and corporate ecosystems.
“We believe that the establishment of this fund is an important step in contributing to the further development of the startup ecosystem in Japan and will bring new dynamism to Plug and Play’s innovation platform.”
— Phillip Vincent, Managing Partner, APAC, Plug and Play
Frequently Asked Questions
- Gather tech interest areas: Plug and Play collects each corporate partner's specific technology priorities and innovation challenges, along with their exact pain points and solution criteria.
- Active market search: The Ventures team goes to events, taps VC connections, and searches Playbook’s database of 100,000+ pre-vetted startups to find companies that match the defined criteria.
- Screen for fit: Candidates are evaluated for relevance, quality, and alignment with the corporation’s specific needs, not just a broad industry match.
- Curated introduction: The right startup is connected to the relevant corporate partner for direct engagement.
- Licensing deal: The corporation licenses the startup's technology for use in its products or services. Commonly, when the solution is proven, the corporation wants speed over ownership.
- Pilot: A structured proof-of-concept project where the startup's solution is tested in the corporation's real environment. The most frequent first outcome validates fit before a larger commitment.
- Investment: The corporation makes a strategic investment in the startup, or Plug and Play Ventures invests through one of its funds. Investment deepens the long-term relationship.
- Acquisition: The corporation acquires the startup. This is the deepest outcome and typically follows a period of piloting and/or investment. Examples from the PNP portfolio: Honey (acquired by PayPal for $4B), Kustomer (acquired by Facebook for $1B).
- Accelerator application: Any startup that applies to a PNP accelerator program is screened and, if relevant, added to Playbook regardless of whether they are selected for the cohort.
- Ventures team sourcing: The Ventures team proactively adds startups discovered at events, through VC referrals, and via the broader innovation ecosystem.
- Partner referrals: Corporate, university, and government ecosystem partners refer startups to PNP for consideration.
- Direct application: Startups can apply directly through PNPs website across any of its 25+ vertical programs.
- · Advanced Manufacturing
- · Aerospace & Defense
- · Agtech
- · Animal Health
- · Brand & Retail
- · Crypto & Digital Assets
- · Deeptech
- · Energy
- · Enterprise & AI
- · Fintech
- · Food & Beverage
- · GOAL
- · Health
- · Insurtech
- · Lifetech
- · Maritime
- · Media & Advertising
- · Medtech
- · Mobility & Physical AI
- · New Materials & Pachaging
- · Real Estate & Construction
- · Semiconductors
- · Smart Cities
- · Sportech
- · Supply Chain
- · Sustainability
- · Travel & Hospitality
How does PNP source startups for corporate partners?
PNP has a dedicated Ventures team that actively sources, screens, and invests in companies. The sourcing process follows a clear logic:
As the program team explains it with a concrete example: “If a bank comes to us and wants to see a fintech company trying to attract more Gen Z’s into their banking platform, we’ll have our Ventures team go out and source companies appropriately to fit the pain point of that bank.”
What types of deals can result from a PNP introduction?
When PNP connects a startup to a corporate partner, the outcome can take four forms, as described directly by the program team:
How does a startup get into the Playbook database?
Startups enter Playbook through several pathways:
All 100K+ startups in Playbook have been reviewed by PNP staff before entry; the platform is curated, not open-access.
What sectors does PNP source startups across?
PNP sources and invests across 25+ vertical industries, including:
Each vertical has dedicated Ventures team members and a corresponding corporate partner group, ensuring sourcing expertise is deep and domain-specific rather than generalist.