(45c) The Ultimate Innovation Platform

Plug and Play is the largest global technology accelerator and one of the most active VCs in Silicon Valley. With hundreds of entrepreneurs from across the world, this is the best place for startups to evolve and thrive.

Since inception in 2006, we have accelerated over 2,000 companies (who have raised over $5 billion in venture funding), expanded to 22 locations across the world, and have partnered with over 180 major corporations. Our Sunnyvale headquarters houses over 400 startups at any one time, and we have over 400 events each year.

Through our venture arm, we have invested in over 700 high-tech startups since 1998. Successful exits include PayPal (acquired by Ebay), Vudu (acquired by Walmart), Danger and Powerset (acquired by Microsoft), and Lending Club ($9B valuation at IPO). Our active portfolio includes successes such as Dropbox ($13B+ valuation), and Zoosk.

Our Innovation Platforms are comprised of startups, corporations, and VCs that connect and work together. To magnify the effectiveness of this growing ecosystem we have created industry-specific verticals for the different stakeholders to operate (see below). These verticals are each built around two 12-week programs per year. For the startups, it is a zero commitment booster pack for business development with the potential for our investment. For corporations and VCs, it is a chance to meet and work with the best startups in their field.

We started the Energy & Sustainability program at Plug and Play in 2017, tackling the innovation challenge in the industry that powers the world. Some of our focus areas include: energy trading, management software platforms, energy efficiency, distributed energy & grid storage, EV charging technology, smart home & IoT, asset management & predictive analytics, and supply chain optimization. We bring innovation to the energy sector along with our corporate partners such as Dominion Energy, EnerjiSa, Tokyo Gas, PG&E, Linde, Siemens, Bangchak, Osaka Gas, and DCP Midstream. So far, we had accelerated three batches of startups in the Energy & Sustainability program.