Atomico
Encyclopedia
Atomico is an international technology venture capital
firm headquarted in London
, with offices in Shanghai
and São Paulo
.
The company focuses on new consumer technologies that have the potential to transform markets, and places an emphasis on strong management teams.
Its co-founder and CEO is Niklas Zennström
, the serial entrepreneur also known for co-founding companies including Skype
and Kazaa
.
Zennström has stated that he founded the company in 2006 after "seeing that new technology would disrupt not just consumer markets, but the venture-capital industry itself".
It has so far invested in more than 40 companies on three continents via two funds, Atomico Ventures I, and more recently the $165m Atomico Ventures II, which was announced in March 2010 .
The company publicly states that it has an active approach to deal sourcing. It is known for its Open Office programme which sees it visit cities around the world six to eight times a year searching for investments, and usually involving talks by Zennström to university students. He has consistently urged aspiring entrepreneurs to look for large market opportunities.
In some deals Atomico invests alongside other venture capital investors. Examples include its investment in Rovio Mobile
in March 2011 when it led a $42m funding round with Accel Partners
, and its February 2011 investment in FON
.
Atomico Ventures I
Atomico Ventures II
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm headquarted in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with offices in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
.
The company focuses on new consumer technologies that have the potential to transform markets, and places an emphasis on strong management teams.
Its co-founder and CEO is Niklas Zennström
Niklas Zennström
Niklas Zennström is an entrepreneur best known for founding several high-profile online ventures with Janus Friis including Skype and Kazaa. More recently he founded the investment group Atomico and has become a significant figurehead for entrepreneurs in the tech sector.-Career:Zennström started...
, the serial entrepreneur also known for co-founding companies including Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
and Kazaa
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
.
Zennström has stated that he founded the company in 2006 after "seeing that new technology would disrupt not just consumer markets, but the venture-capital industry itself".
It has so far invested in more than 40 companies on three continents via two funds, Atomico Ventures I, and more recently the $165m Atomico Ventures II, which was announced in March 2010 .
The company publicly states that it has an active approach to deal sourcing. It is known for its Open Office programme which sees it visit cities around the world six to eight times a year searching for investments, and usually involving talks by Zennström to university students. He has consistently urged aspiring entrepreneurs to look for large market opportunities.
In some deals Atomico invests alongside other venture capital investors. Examples include its investment in Rovio Mobile
Rovio mobile
Rovio Entertainment Ltd. or Rovio is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 2003 as Relude, and in 2005 renamed as Rovio, based in Espoo...
in March 2011 when it led a $42m funding round with Accel Partners
Accel Partners
Accel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
, and its February 2011 investment in FON
FON
Fon is a company that operates a system of dual access wireless networks. Fon is the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with over 4 million hotspots....
.
Investments
The firm's investments includeAtomico Ventures I
- Aliph
- Deca
- Heysan
- Jott
- Kyte
- Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- Mydeco
- Power Reviews
- SeesmicSeesmicSeesmic is a suite of freeware web, mobile, and desktop applications which allow users to simultaneously manage user accounts for multiple social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter....
- TechnoratiTechnoratiTechnorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs. By June 2008, Technorati was indexing 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media...
- Trialpay
- viagogoViagogoviagogo is an online ticket exchange that that allows people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe, secure and transparent environment free from fraud and illegitimate street touts....
- WeatherbillWeatherbillWeatherBill is an online service, launched in January 2007, that helps people and businesses adapt to climate change. The company’s technology platform enables the real-time pricing and purchasing of customizable weather insurance using proprietary global weather simulation modeling and local...
- Woo MediaWoo MediaWoo Media was an online chat and video social network which offered a variety of interactive sites that provided live social entertainment through a computer or mobile device....
- Wunderloop
- XobniXobniXobni is a San Francisco-based company that makes software applications and services including products for Microsoft Outlook and mobile devices. It was founded in March 2006 by Adam Smith and Matt Brezina from Adam's dorm room in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of the Y Combinator summer...
Atomico Ventures II
- 6Wunderkinder
- Chemist Direct
- Cinemaki
- Fabricly
- Fashiolista
- FonFONFon is a company that operates a system of dual access wireless networks. Fon is the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with over 4 million hotspots....
- Grows Up
- JolicloudJolicloudJoli OS is an Ubuntu-based GNU/Linux operating system developed by the company Jolicloud. The operating system was itself called “Jolicloud” until version 1.2, when the company renamed it “Joli OS”. The product name “Jolicloud” now refers to a cloud desktop for managing Web apps, files and...
- Madbid
- Memolane
- Pedidos Ya
- PlayfirePlayfirePlayfire is a social gaming networking website targeted towards gamers. It was founded in 2007 by Kieran O'Neill, Seb Hayes, & Ben Phillips. It currently has more than 400,000 users and more than 50,000 game titles on numerous different platforms....
- RdioRdioRdio is an ad-free music subscription service available in the United States, Canada and Brazil. It is available as a website and also has clients for the iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone mobile devices, which can play streaming music or cache songs for offline...
- Restorando.com
- Rovio MobileRovio mobileRovio Entertainment Ltd. or Rovio is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 2003 as Relude, and in 2005 renamed as Rovio, based in Espoo...
- Siine
- Zattikka
See also
- Business planBusiness planA business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals....
- EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
- Private EquityPrivate equityPrivate equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
- Venture capitalVenture capitalVenture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
- Startup companyStartup companyA startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
- List of venture capital firms