Playground Global

Pandion Secures $41.5M in Series B Funding, Announces New Executive Team Members to Accelerate the Growth of its Residential Parcel Delivery Network

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목요일, 3월 21, 2024

Pandion , the parcel network designed for e-commerce residential delivery and founded by Amazon Air founder Scott Ruffin, today announced a $41.5 million Series B funding round led by Revolution Growth.

Key Points:

Pandion , the parcel network designed for e-commerce residential delivery and founded by Amazon Air founder Scott Ruffin, today announced a $41.5 million Series B funding round led by Revolution Growth.
Pandion will use the new funding to accelerate the growth of its residential parcel delivery network, including building new technology offerings, expanding its geographic reach, and increasing delivery speed for customers like Saks Fifth Avenue.
As part of the funding, Kristin Gunther, partner at Revolution Growth, will join Pandion’s board of directors.
At a time when retailers are diversifying their carrier portfolios and searching for options beyond the parcel duopoly, Pandion can offer a more flexible and responsive shipping network.

Agility Robotics Appoints Peggy Johnson as Chief Executive Officer

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월요일, 3월 4, 2024

Agility Robotics , creator of the market-leading bipedal Mobile Manipulation Robot (MMR) called Digit, announced the appointment of veteran technology leader Peggy Johnson as Chief Executive Officer, effective today.

Key Points:

Agility Robotics , creator of the market-leading bipedal Mobile Manipulation Robot (MMR) called Digit, announced the appointment of veteran technology leader Peggy Johnson as Chief Executive Officer, effective today.
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240304702817/en/
Agility Robotics appoints Peggy Johnson as CEO.
“I am thrilled to be joining the finest robotics team on the planet,” said Johnson.
With Peggy at the helm, Agility can bring robotics to new heights.”
Throughout her career, Johnson has received extensive industry recognition for her engineering and business successes.

Microsoft and 1910 Genetics Partner to Build the Infrastructure Layer for Drug Discovery and Development Using AI and High-Performance Computing

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목요일, 2월 29, 2024

1910 will offer the platform to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, government, academic, and research institutions via three partnership models: Co-discovery, Co-engineering, and Platform-as-a-Service.

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1910 will offer the platform to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, government, academic, and research institutions via three partnership models: Co-discovery, Co-engineering, and Platform-as-a-Service.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with 1910 Genetics to bring their pioneering AI drug discovery engines to Azure Quantum Elements,” said Jason Zander, Executive Vice President of Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft.
Our collaboration with 1910 Genetics demonstrates our shared commitment to innovation and our aspiration to solve some of the most challenging problems the world faces in drug discovery.
AI offers an unprecedented opportunity to compress these cycles, accelerate the time from observation to discovery, and reduce the need for experimentation.

Playground Global Promotes Benjamin Kim PhD to Partner

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수요일, 2월 28, 2024

Playground Global , an early-stage, deep-tech venture firm that invests in founders building category-defining businesses at the forefront of science and technology, today announced that Benjamin Kim PhD, has been promoted to Partner.

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Playground Global , an early-stage, deep-tech venture firm that invests in founders building category-defining businesses at the forefront of science and technology, today announced that Benjamin Kim PhD, has been promoted to Partner.
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228985705/en/
Ben joined Playground as a Venture Fellow in 2019 while completing his PhD in bioengineering at Stanford University.
“It’s an honor to contribute to the Playground life sciences ecosystem and support our portfolio companies in evolving deeply technical breakthroughs into transformational businesses,” said Ben Kim, PhD, Partner at Playground.
“Ben brings an infectious passion for and incredible knowledge of bioengineering and biophysics to the Playground team,” said Jory Bell , General Partner at Playground.

Insamo Launches with $12M Funding from Playground Global, venBio, and MRL Ventures Fund to Develop Best-in-Class Membrane-Permeable Macrocyclic Peptides

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수요일, 2월 21, 2024

Insamo , a biotechnology company pioneering the discovery of membrane-permeable and orally available cyclic-peptides, today announced $12 million in seed capital from Playground Global, venBio, and MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV).

Key Points:

Insamo , a biotechnology company pioneering the discovery of membrane-permeable and orally available cyclic-peptides, today announced $12 million in seed capital from Playground Global, venBio, and MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV).
As part of the financing, Matt Hershenson, co-founder, Playground Global, and Corey Goodman, Ph.D, co-founder, venBio, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
Sahsen Ventures, BEVC, Civilization Ventures, and Axial Ventures also participated in the recent financing.
Our investment in Insamo underscores our dedication to supporting companies pushing the boundaries of drug discovery to enhance patient outcomes.”

Element Zero Raises US$10M Seed Funding Led by Playground Global to Scale up Green Materials Platform, Decarbonize Iron and Other Critical Metals Production

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수요일, 1월 17, 2024

Element Zero , a green materials platform company, announced today that it has raised US$10 million in seed funding led by Playground Global .

Key Points:

Element Zero , a green materials platform company, announced today that it has raised US$10 million in seed funding led by Playground Global .
Element Zero will use the funding to grow R&D, engineering, and project development teams and scale the development of a pilot iron plant.
This non-aqueous electrochemical process allows Element Zero to process the full spectrum of iron ores; this includes the core 95% of Australian and Brazilian global trade in iron ore.
As the price of high-grade iron ore continues to rise, Element Zero will be able to process low-grade iron ore, which is widely accessible.

1910 Genetics Appoints Dr. Shaan C. Gandhi as Independent Board Director

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화요일, 12월 19, 2023

Health, Genetics, Health Technology, Research, Pharmaceutical, Science, Drug discovery, Multimedia, Biotechnology, Spacecraft, Doctor of Philosophy, Cancer, AI, Playground Global, Patient, Therapy, Management

1910 Genetics , the only biotech advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform, today announced the appointment of Shaan C. Gandhi, MD, DPhil, to its board of directors.

Key Points:

1910 Genetics , the only biotech advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform, today announced the appointment of Shaan C. Gandhi, MD, DPhil, to its board of directors.
Gandhi joins as an independent board director and will provide a critical clinical perspective alongside his extensive background in biotechnology investing and strategic collaboration at a time when 1910 Genetics continues to build pharmaceutical and technology partnerships and advance its own pipeline of AI-derived therapeutics.
“As a successful biotech investor and visionary collaborator, Shaan is a superstar addition to our board, who will no doubt influence our trajectory for continued success.
Dr. Gandhi joins a board that already includes:
Desney Tan, PhD, VP and Managing Director of Microsoft Research Lab;
Phyllis Whiteley, PhD, Venture Partner at Playground Global; and
“Having served on many biotechnology company boards, I am excited to help guide the direction of 1910 Genetics,” said Dr. Gandhi.

Playground Global Raises $410 Million to Accelerate the Time-to-Impact for Deep Tech and Science Companies

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목요일, 12월 14, 2023

Playground Global is an early-stage, deep-tech venture firm investing in transformative technologies and founders building category-defining businesses.

Key Points:

Playground Global is an early-stage, deep-tech venture firm investing in transformative technologies and founders building category-defining businesses.
Playground has already made several investments from Fund III, including d-Matrix, Ideon Technologies, Amber Bio, Infinimmune, and Atomic AI, along with other portfolio companies operating in stealth.
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231214676152/en/
Bruce Leak, Peter Barrett and Jory Bell of Playground Global (Photo: Business Wire)
Since its inception, Playground has funded companies developing the foundational layers of emerging technologies.
“Deep technology is no longer a synonym for slow technology,” said Bruce Leak, co-founder and General Partner at Playground Global.

Ayar Labs Names Mark Wade CEO

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월요일, 12월 11, 2023

Ayar Labs , a leader in silicon photonics for chip-to-chip connectivity, today announced the appointment of co-founder and CTO Mark Wade to serve as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

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Ayar Labs , a leader in silicon photonics for chip-to-chip connectivity, today announced the appointment of co-founder and CTO Mark Wade to serve as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
“I’m humbled and honored to take on the role of CEO for Ayar Labs,” Wade said.
Mark Wade is recognized as a pioneer in photonics technologies and, prior to founding Ayar Labs, led the team that designed the optics in the world's first processor to communicate using light.
He and his co-founders invented breakthrough technology at MIT and UC Berkeley from 2010-2015 which led to the formation of Ayar Labs.

1910 Genetics Appoints Bridget Cole to Chief Scientific Officer

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목요일, 11월 16, 2023

1910 Genetics , the only biotech advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform, today announced the appointment of Bridget Cole to Chief Scientific Officer.

Key Points:

1910 Genetics , the only biotech advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform, today announced the appointment of Bridget Cole to Chief Scientific Officer.
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231116571874/en/
Bridget Cole, Chief Scientific Officer at 1910 Genetics (Photo: Business Wire)
Cole has over 25 years of drug discovery and clinical development experience, helping advance compounds from lead identification through late-stage clinical trials across a wide range of therapeutic areas.
I have never met anyone like Jen Nwankwo, and I love working with her and my 1910 colleagues to develop innovative solutions to merge technology with empirical biology to drive drug discovery programs,” said Bridget Cole.
1910 is currently one of the only biotech companies using Microsoft’s Azure Quantum Elements to bring quantum computing power to scientific discovery.