Saeed Amidi

Saeed Amidi is a renowned serial entrepreneur, seasoned executive, and investor, best known as the Founder and CEO of the Plug and Play Tech Center.

Background

Amidi came to the U.S. in 1979 with his family, who were Iranian immigrants escaping the Iranian Revolution. He studied at Menlo College, where he co-founded the Amidi Group, a conglomerate of privately-held businesses involving manufacturing, real estate, and other sectors. By the end of the century, he had transitioned his focus to investments.89

Career

• Amidi Group: In 1980, Amidi co-founded the Amidi Group, which grew to have significant holdings in manufacturing, distribution, trading, retail, and real estate, with assets valued over $250 million.28
• Amidzad Partners: In 2000, he co-founded Amidzad Partners, a seed and early-stage investment firm focused on emerging growth companies. This fund has invested in over 1,000 technology companies, including notable successes like PayPal, Dropbox, Lending Club, and Zoosk.125

Plug and Play Tech Center

• Founded in 2006, Plug and Play is a global innovation platform headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The center provides accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and venture capital investments to startups. It has expanded to over 50 locations globally and has connected over 35,000 startups with 500+ world-leading corporations and numerous venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies.136
• Under Amidi's leadership, Plug and Play has become one of the most active and successful startup accelerators, facilitating significant investments and exits, including companies like Google, PayPal, Dropbox, and Honey.49

Investments and Achievements

• Amidi has been closely involved with more than twenty emerging growth companies, two of which became public companies (PayPal and Preview Systems).2
• He has a notable track record of successful investments, including early-stage funding in companies like Google, although he did not ultimately invest in Google through his own funds.49

Community and Philanthropy

• Amidi is an active member of the technology community and a frequent contributor to numerous charitable foundations. He is also a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), a network of Fortune 500 CEOs, serial entrepreneurs, and financial executives.125

Current Focus

• Amidi's current passion is inspiring and helping entrepreneurs and startups, particularly those emerging from universities. He works closely with several top universities to identify and support promising entrepreneurs.158

You can find Saeed Amidi on LinkedIn under the username saeedamidi.7