Planetree

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.

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

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

• Venture capital investing
• Deep tech investments
• AI startup funding
• Early-stage seed capital
• Technology venture funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planetreevc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Planetree