Plug and Play, the global innovation and startup‑investment platform, announced at its semi‑annual event in Silicon Valley the launch of a new USD 50 million fund to invest in Fintech and Artificial Intelligence, backed by nine institutional investors. With this new vehicle, Plug and Play now manages a total of nine funds worldwide.
This is the largest fund the company has created to focus on two specific sectors and is expected to invest in companies around the globe. It reflects the ongoing innovation journey of many leading financial‑services firms.
Over the years, many of Plug and Play’s partners have taken an active role in corporate‑innovation programs and have contributed to open‑innovation initiatives alongside startups, universities, and government agencies. The new fund reinforces investors’ confidence in Plug and Play and its ability to identify, finance, and scale innovative technologies.
“Plug and Play’s ecosystem has been a valuable source of innovation and market insight,” said Sandeep Manchanda, Head of Insurance M&A and Alliances at EXL, one of the fund’s investors. “With this fund, we deepen our collaboration and make a more strategic bet on AI‑driven technologies that will define the next chapter of insurance and financial services.”
Plug and Play announced the fund during the Enterprise & AI Expo, part of its annual Silicon Valley gathering. The three‑day event, held at the company’s Sunnyvale headquarters, brings together more than 3,500 participants, 75 speakers, and over 200 startups and entrepreneurs to discuss and showcase new projects and technologies.
“AI is changing the world, and industry startups are growing faster than ever,” said Eugenio Gonzalez, Partner at Plug and Play. “The fund strengthens our value proposition of accelerating sales cycles by connecting companies with leaders at major global corporations. It is a key piece of this dynamic ecosystem, which includes a broad network of entrepreneurs and companies we have developed over the years. It marks a transition from short‑term projects to long‑term value creation, enabling us to support entrepreneurs from the early stages and meaningfully accompany them as they build the future of Fintech and AI.”
Beyond capital, Plug and Play offers its portfolio startups access to a global network of more than 550 corporate partners across more than 25 industries. This network provides entrepreneurs with significant opportunities, including pilot projects, customer acquisition, and revenue growth.
Plug and Play is the world’s leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government institutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the organization is active in more than 60 locations across five continents. Plug and Play offers corporate‑innovation programs and supports corporations, governments, and universities at every stage of their end‑to‑end innovation process, from ideation and education to execution. It also runs startup‑acceleration programs and has built its own investment fund, with stakes in successful companies such as Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi.
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