Playground Global is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in deep tech and assists startups with software, hardware, machine learning, marketing, talent and design. The company was founded in 2015 by Andy Rubin, Peter Barrett, Matt Hershenson and Bruce Leak. Playground offers startups support with engineering, distribution, manufacturing and financing in exchange for equity. In May 2019, Playground returned Rubin's investment and removed him from management, following reports of sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred in 2013 while Rubin was an executive at Google. His smartphone company, Essential Products, remained under the Playground umbrella. The next month, Laurie Yoler joined as Playground's first female general partner; she was already serving on the boards of Bose, Tesla and Church & Dwight, among others. Rubin's Essential Products company failed in February 2020, prompting a rebuild of Playground Global. From Wikipedia
