Niklas Zennström
Swedish entrepreneur and technology investor, co-founder of Kazaa and Skype (with Janus Friis, acquired by eBay in 2005 for ~.6B); founder and CEO of fund:atomico, the London-headquartered European venture capital firm he launched in 2006.
Niklas Zennström is a Swedish entrepreneur and technology investor with a background in business administration and engineering physics from Uppsala University. He began his career at Tele2 (1991-1999), where in 1997 he hired Janus Friis; the two founded the file-sharing app Kazaa (2001, sold 2002) and, in 2003, the voice-over-IP service Skype, which eBay acquired in 2005 for $2.6 billion. Zennström was Skype's CEO until 2008, later rejoining as an investor before Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion. He and Friis also co-founded Joost (2006) and Rdio (2010, later acquired by Pandora). In 2006 Zennström founded Atomico, a London venture capital firm investing in technology companies from seed through pre-IPO, where he remains founder and CEO; Atomico closed $1.24 billion across two funds in 2024 and led PhysicsX's $135 million Series B in 2025. He and his wife co-founded Zennström Philanthropies in 2007, focused on climate change and human rights.
Overview
- Role
- Founder & CEO, Atomico
- Based in
- London, United Kingdom
- Prior experience
- Tele2 (1991-1999); Kazaa (co-founder, 2001-2002); Joltid (co-founder); Skype (co-founder & CEO, 2003-2008); Joost (co-founder, 2006-2009); Rdio (co-founder, 2010-2015)
Companies0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Niklas Zennström?
- Niklas Zennström is a Swedish entrepreneur and technology investor with a background in business administration and engineering physics from Uppsala University. He began his career at Tele2 (1991-1999), where in 1997 he hired Janus Friis; the two founded the file-sharing app Kazaa (2001, sold 2002) and, in 2003, the voice-over-IP service Skype, which eBay acquired in 2005 for $2.6 billion. Zennström was Skype's CEO until 2008, later rejoining as an investor before Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion. He and Friis also co-founded Joost (2006) and Rdio (2010, later acquired by Pandora). In 2006 Zennström founded Atomico, a London venture capital firm investing in technology companies from seed through pre-IPO, where he remains founder and CEO; Atomico closed $1.24 billion across two funds in 2024 and led PhysicsX's $135 million Series B in 2025. He and his wife co-founded Zennström Philanthropies in 2007, focused on climate change and human rights.
- What is Niklas Zennström's role?
- Niklas Zennström is Founder & CEO, Atomico, based in London, United Kingdom.
- Where did Niklas Zennström work before?
- Niklas Zennström's prior roles include Tele2 (1991-1999); Kazaa (co-founder, 2001-2002); Joltid (co-founder); Skype (co-founder & CEO, 2003-2008); Joost (co-founder, 2006-2009); Rdio (co-founder, 2010-2015).
Tags
Sources & citations4
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Niklas Zennström co-founded Skype with Janus Friis in 2003; eBay acquired Skype in September 2005 for approximately 2.6 billion dollars.
TechCrunch: Skype founder and Atomico CEO Niklas Zennström says the state of tech in Europe is strongReported2016-12-05 - 2
Zennström founded Atomico in 2006 and serves as its founder and CEO; Atomico raised 1.24 billion dollars across its Venture VI and Growth VI funds, announced September 2024.
CNBC: Skype founder's VC firm Atomico raises $1.24 billion Europe tech fundVerified2024-09-09 - 3
Born February 16, 1966 in Järfälla, Sweden; studied at Uppsala University; co-founded Kazaa, Joltid, Skype, Joost, and Rdio with Janus Friis before founding Atomico in 2006. Founded Zennström Philanthropies with wife Catherine in 2007; received Time 100 (2006), KTH Great Prize (2009), and H.M. The King's Medal (2013).
Wikipedia: Niklas ZennströmReported2026-08-11 - 4
Niklas Zennström is listed as founder of Atomico on the firm's own team page.
Atomico: Niklas Zennström | AtomicoVerified2026-08-11