Find your path to Niklas
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About
Niklas Zennström is a Swedish entrepreneur and technology investor who began his career in 1991 at telecommunications company Tele2 under Jan Stenbeck. In 1999 he left Tele2 to co-found several internet ventures with Janus Friis, and together they created the file-sharing service KaZaA in 2001 and the internet telephony service Skype in 2003. eBay acquired Skype in 2005 for roughly €2.1 billion, and Zennström served as its CEO until 2008; he later joined an investor group that repurchased and then sold Skype to Microsoft in 2011. He went on to co-found the video service Joost and the music streaming service Rdio, and founded Joltid and Altnet. Zennström is the founder and CEO of Atomico, a London-based venture capital firm whose portfolio includes Supercell, Klarna, Skype, and DeepL, with a Fund VI that raised $1.24 billion. Alongside his business work, he and his wife Catherine established Zennström Philanthropies in 2007, focused on climate change and human rights, and he founded the environmental non-profit Race for the Baltic.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Zennström and his wife Catherine established Zennström Philanthropies in 2007, a foundation focused on climate change and human rights. He founded Race for the Baltic, a non-profit focused on the environmental restoration of the Baltic Sea.
- Education
- Studied at Uppsala University (BSc, Business Administration) Studied at Uppsala University (MSc, Engineering Physics) Studied at University of Michigan
- Boards
- Zennström sits on the international advisory board of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Zennström is a member of the Human Rights Watch committee in Sweden.
- Charities
- In 2013 he funded a visiting professorship in climate change leadership at Uppsala University.
- Awards
- Zennström was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2006. He received the European Business Leaders Award for Entrepreneur of the Year, The Economist's Innovation Award, and Business Leader of the Year by European Voice in 2006. He was awarded the KTH Great Prize by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 2009. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oxford Internet Institute in 2011. He was awarded H. M. The King's Medal by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in 2013. He was inducted into the Swedish Startup Hall of Fame in 2014. He was named Alumnus of the Year by Uppsala University in 2015. He received the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class.
- Hobbies
- Zennström is an avid sailor and owns the racing yacht Rán, with his team winning the Rolex Fastnet Race in 2009 and 2011 and world championships in the TP52 sailing class.
- Family
- Zennström is married to Catherine Zennström.
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Investments
Per curated public sources.
Colleagues at Atomico
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Niklas Zennstrom?
- Niklas Zennström is a Swedish entrepreneur and technology investor who began his career in 1991 at telecommunications company Tele2 under Jan Stenbeck. In 1999 he left Tele2 to co-found several internet ventures with Janus Friis, and together they created the file-sharing service KaZaA in 2001 and the internet telephony service Skype in 2003. eBay acquired Skype in 2005 for roughly €2.1 billion, and Zennström served as its CEO until 2008; he later joined an investor group that repurchased and then sold Skype to Microsoft in 2011. He went on to co-found the video service Joost and the music streaming service Rdio, and founded Joltid and Altnet. Zennström is the founder and CEO of Atomico, a London-based venture capital firm whose portfolio includes Supercell, Klarna, Skype, and DeepL, with a Fund VI that raised $1.24 billion. Alongside his business work, he and his wife Catherine established Zennström Philanthropies in 2007, focused on climate change and human rights, and he founded the environmental non-profit Race for the Baltic.
- Where does Niklas Zennstrom work?
- Niklas Zennstrom is General Partner at Atomico.
- What companies has Niklas Zennstrom invested in?
- Investments tracked here include DeepL, Klarna, Skype, Supercell.
- What awards has Niklas Zennstrom received?
- Zennström was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2006. He received the European Business Leaders Award for Entrepreneur of the Year, The Economist's Innovation Award, and Business Leader of the Year by European Voice in 2006. He was awarded the KTH Great Prize by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 2009. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oxford Internet Institute in 2011. He was awarded H. M. The King's Medal by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in 2013. He was inducted into the Swedish Startup Hall of Fame in 2014.