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Plug and Play Tech Center
Plug and Play, founded by Saeed Amidi, runs a global corporate-innovation venture platform investing in 200+ startups annually from 50+ locations...
Plug and Play Tech Center
Saeed Amidi founded Plug and Play in 2006, building on the family's real estate and early-stage investing experience in Silicon Valley. The Amidi family had already cultivated a reputation for spotting talent by renting office space to fledgling tech companies, including Google and PayPal, before formalizing a dedicated innovation platform. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the firm now operates a global network connecting entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors. Plug and Play's investment strategy blends direct venture capital with a corporate innovation partnership model. The firm makes over 200 early-stage investments per year, focusing on sectors including enterprise software, fintech, digital health, and mobility. Its accelerator programs run corporate-sponsored cohorts that allow Fortune 500 partners to pilot emerging technologies. Notable portfolio companies from its history include PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, N26, and Honey, though current active holdings are not systematically disclosed. The firm deploys capital across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, with major hubs in Paris, Singapore, Stuttgart, and Tokyo. With over 50 offices worldwide, Plug and Play operates a lean investment team underlying its accelerator directors and corporate partnership managers. The corporate development arm, which this entity represents, specifically serves as a deal-sourcing and co-investment conduit for its network of more than 500 corporate partners, including firms like Daimler, Panasonic, and Allianz. The platform also manages sector-specific funds alongside its general venture activity. May 2023: Launched a new accelerator program in partnership with the government of Saudi Arabia focused on technology diversification (per public record, 2023). The office footprint spans Charlotte, Wexford, New York, San Francisco, and Baltimore within the United States alone, alongside its international outposts. Plug and Play's structural differentiator is its deeply embedded, double-sided platform. Unlike a conventional venture firm, it generates proprietary deal flow by running physical accelerator spaces where corporate partners actively scout — creating a closed-loop system where the firm earns management fees from corporate innovation programs, equity from startups, and rental income from its real estate. The Amidi family retains operational control, with Saeed Amidi remaining the sole public-facing principal, reflecting a concentrated governance structure that contrasts with the firm's sprawling global footprint.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
2006
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Sunnyvale
Corporate office
Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Additional offices
Charlotte, NC · Wexford, PA · New York, NY · San Francisco, CA · Baltimore, MD · Paris, France · Singapore · Tokyo, Japan · Stuttgart, Germany · Amsterdam, Netherlands
Principals
Saeed Amidi
Founder & CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Plug and Play?
Saeed Amidi, the founder and CEO, maintains control over high-level investment strategy, but deal execution is distributed across managing partners and directors who run each sector-specific vertical and geographic office. The firm does not publicly name a single CIO.
How does Plug and Play source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources deal flow through its extensive accelerator network, which runs over 50 physical programs annually. Corporate partners like Daimler and Panasonic pay to participate in the scouting process, giving Plug and Play early visibility into startups that apply, pitch, and graduate from its themed cohorts.
Is Plug and Play structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Plug and Play operates as a hybrid: the Amidi family holds the ownership stake, making it a family-backed enterprise, but the investment engine functions as an institutional venture capital and corporate innovation platform. Its corporate development arm acts as an outsourced deal-sourcing unit for large corporations rather than a traditional family office capital allocator.
Does Plug and Play participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm primarily makes direct early-stage equity investments and runs its own sector-focused venture funds. It is not known as a significant fund-of-funds allocator; the corporate development arm specifically focuses on connecting startups directly with its corporate partners for pilots, commercial agreements, and direct investments.
How is Plug and Play related to the Amidi family's real estate operations?
The innovation platform evolved from the family's real estate holdings, which famously rented offices to companies like Google and PayPal in their early days. The real estate portfolio remains a separate operational pillar, providing co-working and office space that anchors Plug and Play's accelerator locations globally, though the venture and corporate development arms are managed as distinct businesses.
What is Plug and Play's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Plug and Play actively facilitates co-investment between its corporate partners and portfolio startups but does not typically function as a passive LP in third-party-managed venture funds. The corporate development arm specifically curates opportunities for its corporate network to invest directly alongside Plug and Play's own venture funds.
Does Plug and Play maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
There is no prominently disclosed philanthropic foundation directly tied to Plug and Play or the Amidi family that is structurally separated from the corporate entity. The firm's public engagement centers on economic development partnerships with governments and corporate social responsibility initiatives run through its accelerator programs rather than a dedicated grant-making vehicle.
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