About
Nicholas Francis started the chain of events that became Unity with a single forum post. In May 2002 he asked for help building an open-source shader compiler for Mac game developers; a Berlin teenager called Joachim Ante replied, and in 2004 the two founded Unity in Copenhagen with David Helgason. As chief creative officer he spent nearly a decade shaping the engine that made game development accessible to people without a studio behind them. He left in 2013 to make games again, founding the Copenhagen studio Framebunker, and in 2022 became cornerstone investor in an agricultural technology fund with a $10 million commitment, arguing that farming is among the last industries technology has barely touched. He now runs the Francis Family Fund, a perpetual-horizon family office holding positions in Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC and Fifth Wall Climate, which channels profits into education and emergency relief.
Beyond investing
- More
- It began with his May 2002 forum post asking for help on an open-source shader compiler for Mac game developers; Joachim Ante, then at school in Berlin, replied. Runs the Francis Family Fund, a perpetual-horizon family office holding positions in Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC and Fifth Wall Climate, which channels profits into education and emergency relief.
From Nicholas's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer 2004–2013 at Unity
Intro paths
In turn, Nicholas can intro founders to Unity's investors below.
Unity's investors · 22
Co-founders at Unity
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Nicholas Francis?
- Nicholas Francis started the chain of events that became Unity with a single forum post. In May 2002 he asked for help building an open-source shader compiler for Mac game developers; a Berlin teenager called Joachim Ante replied, and in 2004 the two founded Unity in Copenhagen with David Helgason. As chief creative officer he spent nearly a decade shaping the engine that made game development accessible to people without a studio behind them. He left in 2013 to make games again, founding the Copenhagen studio Framebunker, and in 2022 became cornerstone investor in an agricultural technology fund with a $10 million commitment, arguing that farming is among the last industries technology has barely touched. He now runs the Francis Family Fund, a perpetual-horizon family office holding positions in Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC and Fifth Wall Climate, which channels profits into education and emergency relief.
- Where does Nicholas Francis work?
- Nicholas Francis is Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer 2004–2013 of Unity.
- What check size does Nicholas Francis write?
- Nicholas Francis typically writes checks of $5K – $50K.
- What companies did Nicholas Francis found?
- Nicholas Francis founded Unity.
Paths to reach Nicholas
People who overlapped with Nicholas at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.