Plug and Play Tech Center
Venture capital firm and accelerator network headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, founded in 2006 by Saeed Amidi. It runs corporate-linked accelerator programmes and has offices in the Middle East.
Industry: Venture capital and startup accelerator | Location: Sunnyvale, United States | Founded: 2006
About Plug and Play Tech Center
Plug and Play is a venture capital firm and startup accelerator network based in Silicon Valley, with its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. It runs accelerator programmes that connect startups with large corporate partners and invests in early-stage companies. Tech Funding News reported in June 2025 that it operates from more than 60 locations across five continents and works with more than 550 corporate partners.
Saeed Amidi founded the business in 2006, and Wamda named him as founder and chief executive in June 2023. His family bought an office building at 165 University Avenue in Palo Alto in 1988, and Amidi and his partner Pejman Nozad invested in several of its early-stage tenants during the dot-com period. Wikipedia reports that he used the returns to fund the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale.
Bloomberg reporting republished by Wamda said in June 2023 that Plug and Play managed five funds totalling $500 million. In June 2025 it closed a $50 million Fintech and AI Fund backed by nine institutional investors, expected to back about 30 companies. Tech Funding News lists Dropbox, PayPal, N26 and Rappi among the companies it has backed.
The company has built a presence in the Middle East and North Africa. In October 2017 Abu Dhabi Global Market announced a partnership with it to run a fintech acceleration programme. Khaleej Times reported in 2021 that Abu Dhabi was its first Middle East office, followed by recently launched offices in Riyadh and Cairo. In September 2021 it signed a three-year agreement with Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency to launch an innovation platform in Cairo and to accelerate or incubate 120 startups.
In September 2025 it partnered with Tunisian venture firm 216 Capital on a six-month accelerator for up to 20 startups. The Aswan Bootcamp Series, run with the Egyptian agency from November 2024, supported 61 startups in Upper Egypt that secured about $3.7 million, Wamda reported in March 2026. In April 2026 Plug and Play Middle East made an undisclosed strategic investment in Saudi fintech AVA after it took part in the Fintech Accelerator Programme.
Leadership
- Saeed Amidi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Eugenio Gonzalas, Partner
- Yves Cabanac, Managing Director, France, Benelux and Africa
- Omeed Mehrinfar, Managing Director and Co-Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Henrik Bærentsen, Director, Plug and Play Saudi Arabia
- Sobhan Khani, Vice President