Planet First Partners

At Planet First Partners, we support the ambitious steps being taken by Cambridge to secure its position as a leader in global innovation, as mentioned in The Times. As a sustainable growth firm focused on technology investments, Planet First Partners is excited about the potential for collaboration and investment in this vibrant ecosystem. The recent $75 million raised by quantum computing company Riverlane, backed by our firm, showcases the increasing investor interest in Cambridge’s start-ups. https://lnkd.in/ePr5Uz9g

Last week we had the pleasure and honor to welcome a delegation from Planet First Partners at imec. It was a great occasion to share the role of imec's worldwide leading role at the heart of innovation in the space of semiconductors, but also present a perspective on our activities to drive the emergence of a deeptech venturing ecosystem around imec and our ambition to further increase the local impact of our activities. A very nice moment to share our hopes and perspective with a group keen to further explore the promises of our ecosystem!

💡 To anyone interested in Quantum Computing, we are pleased to share Riverlane's Quantum Error Correction (QEC) report.   🌟 This report is very accessible and highlights the importance of implementing QEC at scale, and the benefits of starting this work now. 🌱 Quantum computing is a key enabler of potential future breakthroughs in climate change mitigation and human health, and Riverlane's Quantum Error Correction (QEC) Stack is the cornerstone of the industry’s next wave of progress.   #TheQECReport2024 

2024 Investor Day: Accelerating investment pace This past Tuesday, we had the pleasure of hosting our investors at our 2024 Investor Day, where we provided a comprehensive update on Planet First Partners’ performance and progress over the past year. We were thrilled to have our three new portfolio companies’ founders FINN; THIS™ and Riverlane join us to present themselves and share their latest developments and vision for the future. It is energizing to see how our they are making an impact and scaling innovation towards a more sustainable future. A special thank you to our partner KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) for inviting us to visit TRANSfarm KU Leuven and imec, two of their most remarkable spinoffs, giving our investors a chance to discover their groundbreaking work, thus linking research with investment. Also, a big thank you to Faculty Club Leuven for hosting us in such well restored and welcoming space. Your support made the day even more memorable. We look forward to continuing this journey of growth and success with our partners and stakeholders. #InvestorDay #PortfolioGrowth #Innovation #ThankYou #FundUpdate

🔊 Exciting news! Today, we proudly announce our strategic partnership with Zero Two, a pioneering company specializing in advanced #datacenter solutions. What's the impact of this partnership? We'll support the UAE's rapid AI growth by delivering #sustainable computing solutions tailored to address the region's increasing demands of #AI workloads. 🚀 Together, we are committed to promoting sustainable practices in the tech industry and supporting the UAE as its Net Zero journey progresses. As a result of that, we have successfully deployed over 300 MW of immersion cooling technology in Abu Dhabi. 📌 But there's more! Some team members will attend Gitex Global this week at the Dubai World Trade Center. Reach out to Scott Willocks for a meeting during the conference. For more details about this announcement, check out our blog. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eESgV4j4 #submer #immersioncooling #datacentersthatmakesense #datacenters #hpc #zerotwo

Thrilled to have represented Planet First Partners at the WVC:E Summit at the iconic STATION F in Paris 🇫🇷 Retention of women remains a crucial challenge in finance—and venture capital is no exception. Bringing together 200+ women from VCs across Europe, at all seniority levels, was a fantastic opportunity to learn, share, and connect with so many talented peers 🌍 Feeling grateful for the meaningful connections and insights gained over the past couple of days. Looking forward to strengthening these new bonds! ✨

A privilege to represent Planet First Partners at Happiness Capital | Certified B Corp’s Investor Day last month - a fund whose mission is to build a happiness ecosystem in which their portfolio companies and VC partners help them to co-create a better future, leveraging a unique “Happiness Return Framework” created alongside industry experts**. The fund operates with a philosophy not too dissimilar to our own: that business success and sustainability can nurture and promote healthier and happier lives around the world. What better setting for this than a small, but culturally rich, country nestled in the Himalayas - Bhutan 🇧🇹- a country which measures Gross National Happiness as keenly, if not more so, than others reference Gross Domestic Product (not to mention it is the first, and only, country to be officialy carbon negative 🌱). Bringing together hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs and policy makers from around the world - including the King of Bhutan himself, otherwise known as the ‘Druk Gyalpo’ (Dragon King), who engaged us over dinner on his vision for a thriving business hub in Paro, generously hosted 1x1s with promising startups interested in establishing a manufacturing presence there, and offered the Druk Gyalpo Institute as a venue for our business day (his not-for-profit providing world-class education to underprivileged children) - we spent four days exploring the largely-untouched mountains of Bhutan, discussing technological innovations across foodtech🍽️, renewable energy🔋, sustainable supply chains⛓️, earth observation🔎, and health 🚑, and engaging in their culture through guided meditations and a hike to their most sacred site, the ‘Tiger’s Nest’, sitting 3,120m above sea level. The Bhutanese culture is beautifully interwoven with their spirituality, and so warmly shared with those to whom it is foreign. While the country may be far from us in distance, religion, and taste (the spiciness of their food is certainly something to be reckoned with!) we can all learn something from their desire to consistently put their best foot forward, share their strengths, extend an open palm where they seek guidance, and continually strive for a sustainable future 🌏. A special thanks to the Happiness Capital team and the Lee Kum Kee family for their exceptionally hard work in organising the event, and in their dedication to their mission and values🙏🤝. **If interested to learn more about the “Happiness Return Framework”, Professor Winnie Peng presented her latest case study which is downloadable here: https://lnkd.in/dZzyGYpv Eric Ng

A whole week of Sifted 💫 We at FINN kicked off this week by being ranked first in this year’s Sifted’s 50 fastest-growing startups in #Germany 🤩 This incredible recognition is a huge testament to our great team's dedication and hard work over the past years. 🤝 🎤 Later this week, our Chief People Officer Karen Brandt joined a panel hosted by Zosia Wanat at this year’s #SiftedSummit in London. Together with Noor van Boven, Lena Hackelöer and Alan Price, she discussed how startups should prepare for their hiring roadmap for growth. 🚀 What a week – we are excited for what’s next 😏

New ESG & Impact Talks Episode! 🌱 Join us for our latest conversation with Sergio Henrique Collaço de Carvalho, Partner and Head of Sustainability at Planet First Partners, an Article 9 growth equity platform focused on scaling tech-enabled businesses. This episode is a must-listen if you're interested in learning about the challenges for private equity firms in finding portfolio companies that balance both growth potential and sustainability requirements, especially in the growth-stage investment space. 💡 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/e3zCCjBx #PrivateEquity #ESG #ImpactInvesting #Sustainability #GrowthStage #VentureCapital

We are so pleased to announce a successful growth round of $55.5 million USD thus far, led by M&G Investments, a leading investment company. 🚀 The race is on for better chips and #datacenter capacity to handle AI workloads. In this scenario, we must build a better approach to #datacentercooling. Here is where our #immersioncooling technology comes to bear. The funds will enable us to capitalize on new business opportunities, boost customer acquisition, and support clients in their growing infrastructure needs while complying with environmental regulations. "We are grateful for the strong interest from investors and are thrilled to partner with the ones who align with our sustainability values." Pol Valls, Founder & CFO of Submer. "As the global demand for AI and data capacity accelerates, we see Submer's technology as a critical solution to alleviate the intensive energy and water requirements of digital infrastructure." Niranjan Sirdeshpande, Global Head of Catalyst Investments at M&G. We extend our heartfelt thanks to M&G Investments, Planet First Partners, Norrsken VC and Mundi Ventures for their unwavering support in our mission to build #sustainabledatacenters and pave the way for a greener future. Thanks to TechCrunch for the article: https://lnkd.in/e3-pGavs To delve deeper into the details of the investment, we invite you to visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eCxYR4QZ #submer #datacentersthatmakesense