2022 Portfolio Company Highlights

What a year! 2022 brought Playground promising new partnerships and exciting progress for our existing portfolio companies. Our team is reflecting on some of the greatest highlights, and we can't wait to see what next year brings...

New Partnerships

• We lead a $44M investment in d-Matrix to accelerate the commercialization of the world's most energy-efficient compute platform to handle AI inference. This is crucial tech that's badly needed now: https://venturebeat.com/ai/d-matrixs-new-chip-will-optimize-matrix-calculations/
• Ideon Technologies announced its $16M Series A funding round, led by Playground. With its radical new approach to discovering and mining critical metals and minerals, Ideon's breakthrough new technology is already speeding the transition to a cleaner world. https://www.businessinsider.com/ideon-pitch-deck-series-a-electric-vehicles-lithium-supply-chain-2022-9
• We also lead Infinimmune 's seed funding round and are thrilled to partner on its novel, human-first approach to drug discovery and development. https://www.genengnews.com/gen-edge/infinimmune-raises-12-million-seed-funding-to-design-drugs-using-human-sourced-antibodies/

Major Milestones

• Big news from Strand Therapeutics as they raised additional funding to deliver the next generation of mRNA therapeutics to patients in 2023. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/28/business/boston-mrna-startup-raises-millions-test-its-targeted-cancer-therapies/
• The NY Times-Breaking News shone a spotlight on Ultima Genomics as a startup drastically reducing the cost of gene sequencing, helping to build a massive genomic database to aid clinicians in diagnosis. Ultima announced a $100 genome sequencing in May of this year. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/business/gene-sequencing-ultima-cheaper.html
• Relativity Space and Impulse Space teamed up to beat Elon Musk's Space X to Mars. Impulse CEO Thomas Mueller : “We need to do stuff that people think can’t be done.” Relativity CEO Tim Ellis : "We are more audacious than some of the other companies.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/science/mars-landing-relativity-space-spacex.html
• Adoption of warehouse robots will increase 50% in the next five years, according to the Material Handling Institute. There's a special demand for bots like Agility Robotics Digit, designed to operate on human terms and in human spaces. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/warehouse-technology-robotics.html
• Hydrogen is the only near-term, scalable, true zero-carbon fuel for aviation. We're continually impressed by Universal Hydrogen modular capsules that solve logistics challenges preventing widespread adoption. Watch how they're changing the industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-4if26F_RA
• There's a new kind of robot in the warehouse — one with the ability to read human body language and assist workers around it. Robust.AI Founder Rodney Brooks talked with WIRED about Carter, their new robot, designed to read human cues. https://www.wired.com/story/warehouse-robot-reads-body-language/

Well-Deserved Recognition

• The CNBC Tech Disruptor 50 List highlights startups with the drive and the solutions to tackle many of our current challenges. We were proud to see our portfolio companies Relativity Space and Virta Health honored. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/these-are-the-2022-cnbc-disruptor-50-companies.html
• Fast Company annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies included four of our portfolio companies. We're proud to partner with change-makers like Relativity Space , FarmWise , Saltbox and PsiQuantum https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2022