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Niklas ZennstromSwedish entrepreneur
Date of Birth: 16.02.1966
Country:  Sweden |
Biography of Niklas Zennström
Early Life and Education
Niklas Zennström is a Swedish entrepreneur and the founder of several well-known internet projects. He received his education at Uppsala University, specializing in business management and engineering physics. For his final year of study, Zennström attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA.
Career
In 1991, Zennström started his career at 'Tele2', but this was just the beginning of a long list of ventures. He worked at the European company 'get2net' and served as the CEO of the portal 'everyday.com'. In 2000, Zennström and Janus Friis launched the file-sharing platform Kazaa, with Zennström as the CEO. By 2003, Kazaa became the most downloaded application in the world. However, it faced legal issues from representatives of the music and film industries and was eventually sold to Sharman Networks.
Zennström then founded 'Joltid', a company focused on developing and selling file-sharing applications and traffic optimization tools. Around the same time, he started Altnet, the world's first secure peer-to-peer network for promoting and selling commercial software.
Zennström's most famous project to date is Skype. He served as the CEO until 2007, during which time the program became the most popular communication application in the world, with approximately 309 million registered users. In 2007, Zennström left Skype and launched Joost, a successful video hosting platform. In 2009, he repurchased Skype with a consortium of investors and regained control of the company.
On May 10, 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, marking the largest cash deal in Microsoft's history. Rumor has it that Zennström and Friis profited approximately $1 billion from the deal. Currently, Zennström leads the company 'Atomico', which specializes in investing in high-tech sector companies with unique business models or new technologies. The headquarters of 'Atomico' is located in London, with branches in Beijing, São Paulo, Tokyo, and Istanbul. The firm has already supported around 50 companies.
Philanthropy and Personal Life
In addition to his business ventures, Zennström is actively involved in philanthropy. He and his wife founded 'Zennström Philanthropies', which sponsors projects focused on combating climate change, advocating for human rights, and other socially beneficial initiatives. Zennström is particularly known for his efforts to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. 'Zennström Philanthropies' even established its own climate award, which recognizes Swedish entrepreneurs who excel in addressing global warming and other environmental issues.
Furthermore, Zennström is an avid yachtsman, and his yacht has participated in major international competitions.
