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Former Android chief Andy Rubin has a new incubator called Playground Global, and says the firm has now closed a $300 million funding round and will be investing in new hardware startups.
Playground has said that it provides resources, mentorship and funding to startups that make hardware devices.
The firm has now invested in eight startups, Rubin said.
He’s interested in investing in the technology that comes “after smartphones and tablets.” This could be Internet of Things or wearables.
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He also said he’s interested in software that analyzes the data collected by hardware. “The thing that’s going to be new is the part of the cloud that starts to analyze all that information that’s coming back.”
Playground has already invested in a deep learning hardware startup called Nervana Systems, Rubins said.
He added that Playground has also made an investment in Connected Yard, which makes a sensor that does a constant chemical analysis of your pool, then, rather than buzzing your phone, sends you pellets to put in your pool.
Rubin is also a partner at venture capital firm Redpoint Ventures. He spoke to Re/code’s Walt Mossberg at the Code Mobile conference in Half Moon Bay, California on Wednesday.
