Playground Ventures is seeking $350 million for its fourth flagship fund, according to an SEC filing, the second significant fund downsizing since the departure of its high-profile founder in 2019.
The plans make Playground the latest VC firm to retreat from raising ever-larger vehicles. The Bay Area firm’s third VC fund rustled up $410 million in late 2023, according to PitchBook data. That amount was a $90 million less than its $500 million second fund.
Playground representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
Started in 2015 by Android founder and former Google executive Andy Rubin, who went on to serve as a high-profile executive, Playground focuses on deploying capital to early-stage “deep tech” startups. The firm has backed startups in sectors ranging from decarbonization to life sciences and aerospace.
Playground has raised additional capital outside of its flagship fund series, according to regulatory filings.
Rubin, who did not immediately return a request for comment, parted ways with the firm in 2019, reportedly under contested circumstances.
Its team is now led by three general partners: Playground co-founder Bruce Leak, who led Apple’s rollout of QuickTime and went on to found several of his own startups; Jory Bell, another Apple alum who founded a computer manufacturer; and Peter Barrett, a one-time Microsoft executive who later built out cloud intelligence for CloudCar.
Downsized VC funds have become commonplace. Slow Ventures this month lowered its latest fundraising target across two vehicles by about 15% relative to its 2022 funds.
Valuations and round sizes for top AI and select broader technology startups have been on the upswing. Later-stage companies like Databricks have landed massive sums.
Meanwhile, valuations in other sectors have tempered. The landscape could be one reason top early-stage VCs like Playground and Slow have not been under pressure to increase fund sizes.
Playground participated early on in the funding of now-profitable life sciences startups like Strand Therapeutics, which develops gene therapies to boost cancer patients’ immune systems. It also backed Agility Robotics, a designer and manufacturer of robots capable of rote human tasks.
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