(+) Peter Barrett: 12 unicorns and counting!

With a remarkable portfolio featuring 20% unicorns—startups valued at over $1 billion— Peter Barrett has become one of the most influential figures in deep tech. From working alongside Bill Gates, to hiring Elon Musk, to supporting groundbreaking startups, Barrett is a driving force behind many innovations that are shaping our future.

In this interview, Barrett shares his insights on deep tech, and what it takes to succeed in this high-stakes world.

A journey through tech titans

Originally from Australia, he started his first company there before moving to the U.S.

Barrett co-founded Rocket Science Games and played a pivotal role in developing early video compression technologies in the 1990s. That is where he gave Elon Musk his first job.

— Elon was a really sweet, clever kid back then and a great engineer. I introduced him to the lead investor in Zip2. He has obviously just taken off from there. There’s nothing in the world like Space X. I think Tesla is an amazing company too, Peter Barrett says.

Barrett later joined Microsoft, where he was writing software and developing technology. He worked there for 13 years, and got to work closely with Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates.

At Playground Global, Barrett focuses on breakthrough technologies like quantum computing, robotics, and AI, aiming to address some of the most complex challenges in the tech space. Playground Global is an early-stage investment firm that helps ambitious entrepreneurs bring bold technical visions to life.

With over 100 patents, Barrett’s work often centers on fostering improbable» technologies with long-term societal impact, such as his involvement in PsiQuantum’s quantum computing initiatives.

— I still read technical papers and think with an engineer’s mindset, he shares, emphasizing that staying hands-on with technology fuels his work.

Defining deep tech

When asked about his definition of deep tech, Barrett offers a straightforward yet profound explanation:

— So there is a flippin’ definition, which is “things that almost certainly won’t work but will be consequential if they do”.

Barrett adds:

— Deep tech is about taking the most important new results in science and engineering, and translating them into commercial value. These are the kinds of innovations that sound like science fiction but could transform industries—from quantum computing to programmable mRNA.

Barrett is less enthusiastic about hype-driven trends like cryptocurrency, which he believes offer little tangible benefit to society.

— Things like autonomous driving, or fusion or those kinds of things are a lot more further away. That’s just Silicon Valley getting excited about things. For instance, nonsense like crypto, that doesn’t really do anybody anything good.

Playground Global – a Silicon Valley legacy with global reach

Barrett’s firm, Playground Global, is based in the heart of Silicon Valley—a location steeped in tech history.

— We are in a building that used to be an apricot cannery, just a stone’s throw away from Google and Apple.

Barrett is quick to point out that deep tech innovation is not limited to Silicon Valley.

— If you want to do anything in green metals, you should go to Western Australia. If you’re building quantum computers, you look at Australia, Copenhagen, or Chicago. Talent defines opportunity, and is no longer constrained by geography.

Barrett is currently looking at opportunities in Norway.

— Norway is interesting, especially because the tech pool here is incredible, he says.

Playground’s impressive track record—nearly 20% of its portfolio companies have become unicorns—comes from a different approach to venture capital. The company is built around deep technical expertise.

— Our team is mostly scientists and engineers. All of the partners are engineers, Barrett explains.

This allows them to underwrite technical risks others might shy away from, giving them an edge in spotting and nurturing the next big thing.

The future of deep tech

So, what technology trends within deep tech excites you most?

— Broadly, I am excited about technologies that give us agency over biology and disease. Being concerned about the climate crisis is absolutely something we should be, and we are doing a lot of work on that space, he says.

Another area Barrett highlights is the evolution of semiconductors, the key components in computers.

— The prevailing wisdom is that Moore’s law is ending, but it’s only ending for traditional materials and methods, right? There are ways in which we can make classical computation many orders of magnitude faster than it currently is, and more useful than it currently is, he explains.

The venture capitalist highlights quantum computers, a technology that will tackle highly complex problems that current computers can’t solve.

— It is the most important technology since fire, he says.

He also points out that artificial intelligence (AI) is changing fast, in ways we have never seen before.

— AI is both underhyped and overhyped. The entire stack is changing all at once, he says, meaning the foundational technology behind AI is evolving from top to bottom.

— We are going to be deploying a lot of capital in that as well to continue to improve the most important tools that we have to move civilization forward.

Advice for deep tech entrepreneurs

When asked for advice for startups looking to attract deep tech investors like Barrett, he offers a mix of ambition and pragmatism.

— Don’t think small. Break down your vision into testable hypotheses. Show demonstrable results and establish relationships early with the customers who will make you famous.

He warns against shrinking ambitions based on geography.

— We love crazy bets, but they have to be grounded in reality. The biggest thing holding back talented entrepreneurs is often their own perception of the market. Think globally from day one.

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