Planetree
Planetree is a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 that invests exclusively in deep technology and AI companies across Asia and North America, backing founders with seed capital, strategic support, and network access.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Planetree does
Planetree is a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 that invests exclusively in deep technology and artificial intelligence companies. The firm is led by a four-person core team — Founding Managing Partner Yipin (formerly a Partner at GGV Capital and an investment professional at GIC), Managing Partner Yu (ex-Google, ex-CTO of LiMei Technology), Vice President Emily (ex-Google, ex-TravelClick product leadership with ML/AI focus), and Managing Director Cynthia (ex-PwC, ex-Samena Capital). Planetree backs founders with seed and early-stage capital, strategic support, and network access, operating across verticals including AI infrastructure, applied AI, autonomous driving, robotics, fintech/cross-border payments, and Web3.
Planetree's portfolio includes category leaders such as PingCAP, Deeproute, MiniMax, XTransfer, and Manycore, plus more recent bets including VelaFi (stablecoin payments), Cloudsway, Neolix (autonomous vehicles), Astribot (robotics), Taiko (Web3), and Kaito (AI infrastructure). The firm actively co-invests with global investors including Alibaba Investment, BAI Capital, XVC, and Ikuyo. Its operating geographies span Singapore, China, and North America, with portfolio companies increasingly targeting cross-border markets in Latin America and Asia.
The firm's business model follows standard early-stage VC economics: it raises capital from limited partners (reported to include sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors) and earns management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on realized gains through exits such as IPOs or acquisitions. Deal flow is sourced through the team's direct network and ecosystem rather than open inbound processes. Planetree does not develop proprietary technology products; its "product" is capital allocation and portfolio support.
Planetree firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Planetree
- Legal name
- Planetree
- Website
- https://planetree.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Planetree is a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 that invests exclusively in deep technology and AI companies across Asia and North America, backing founders with seed capital, strategic support, and network access.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Planetree industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Emerging Managers / Seeding Platforms (FSAHAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Thematic / Sector-Focused Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAH)
Keywords
Where Planetree is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Planetree business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Investment Returns / Equity Gains: Planetree generates returns through equity investments in early-stage deep tech and AI companies. Returns are realized through liquidity events such as IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary share sales. The firm also earns management fees and carried interest from fund operations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Planetree product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Planetree is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in deep technology and AI startups. The firm deploys capital into portfolio companies across infrastructure/deep software, digitalization + AI, and deep hardware categories, while providing founders with strategic support, operational expertise, and access to its ecosystem of industry leaders and partners. Returns are generated through equity investments realized via liquidity events such as IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary share sales, supplemented by fund management fees and carried interest.
Product overview
Planetree is a unified investment firm focused on deep technology and artificial intelligence. The firm operates as a single investment platform rather than a modular product architecture. Through its investment activities, Planetree identifies and seeds disruptive technologies across various inflection points, nurturing the next wave of industry leaders in AI and deep tech sectors. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital, strategic support, and network access to build transformative companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Planetree Early-Stage Deep Tech & AI Venture Fund Planetree's core offering is its early-stage venture capital fund, which deploys capital into deep technology and AI startups across three investment themes: Infra/Deep software tech, Digitalization + AI, and Deep hardware tech. The fund provides portfolio companies with capital, strategic support, network access, and operational expertise. Notable portfolio companies include PingCAP, Deeproute, MiniMax, XTransfer, Manycore, VelaFi, Cloudsway, Neolix, Taiko, and Kaito. The offering is targeted at founders and entrepreneurs building transformative, future-ready companies.
Companies that use Planetree
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Planetree technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Planetree partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Planetree competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sinovation Ventures: AI- and deep-tech-focused early/growth investor with US and China operations. Direct peer given overlapping thesis on AI and deep tech, similar founder-backed model, and competing for the same cross-border Chinese technical founders.
- ZhenFund: Beijing/US early-stage VC focused on technical founders across AI, enterprise software, and deep tech. Direct peer because ZhenFund competes head-to-head with Planetree for seed/Series A rounds in the same deep-tech and AI founder ecosystem.
- FutureX Capital: Southeast Asia-focused early-stage VC investing in deep tech, AI, and frontier technologies. Direct peer given both firms are Asia-based deep-tech specialists competing for Singapore and SEA deal flow.
- Z Venture Partners: Japan- and Asia-focused early-stage investment arm backing frontier tech and AI. Direct peer as a regional deep-tech/AI specialist with similar founder-support, cross-border deal pattern.
- Linear Capital: Asia-based early-stage VC investing in deep tech, AI, and enterprise software. Direct peer because both firms share the "seed deep tech from Asia" positioning and overlap in founder communities.
- Five Element Ventures: Early-stage investor backing deep tech and AI founders. Directly comparable to Planetree for the same seed-stage deep-tech/AI founder pool and similar team size.
- XVC: Early-stage venture firm investing in deep tech and AI, and lead investor (with Ikuyo) in the VelaFi Series B alongside Planetree. Direct peer because both are co-investing in the same deep-tech opportunities and overlap in target founders.
- BAI Capital: Early- and growth-stage investor focused on AI, fintech, and Asia tech. Comparable as a co-investor in the same rounds (e.g., VelaFi) and similar deep-tech/AI seeding mandate.
Broad incumbents
- GGV Capital: Established US-China early- and growth-stage investor covering enterprise, AI, and consumer tech. Highly comparable because Planetree's founder Yipin was previously a partner at GGV, and both firms back deep-tech and AI founders across the same geographies.
- DCM Ventures: Multi-stage venture firm with strong US-Asia tech franchise investing in software, AI, and hardware. Comparable because DCM covers similar geographies and stages where Planetree operates but with broader stage range and larger AUM.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Planetree social profiles
Digital presencePlanetree financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Planetree leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Planetree funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Planetree M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments4 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Planetree
What does Planetree do?
Planetree is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in deep technology and AI startups. The firm deploys capital into portfolio companies across infrastructure/deep software, digitalization + AI, and deep hardware categories, while providing founders with strategic support, operational expertise, and access to its ecosystem of industry leaders and partners. Returns are generated through equity investments realized via liquidity events such as IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary share sales, supplemented by fund management fees and carried interest.
Is Planetree a public or private company?
Planetree is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Planetree founded?
Planetree was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Planetree based?
Planetree is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does Planetree make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns / Equity Gains.
Who are Planetree's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sinovation Ventures, ZhenFund, FutureX Capital, Z Venture Partners, Linear Capital, Five Element Ventures, XVC and BAI Capital. Broad incumbents are GGV Capital and DCM Ventures.
Does Planetree have an API?
No public API is recorded for Planetree.
What industry is Planetree in?
Planetree's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAHAKAI, Emerging Managers / Seeding Platforms, with a secondary code of FSANAGAH, Thematic / Sector-Focused Multi-Manager Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.