Nikolaj Nyholm

Nikolaj Nyholm is a renowned Danish serial entrepreneur, investor, and a key figure in the European tech and gaming industries. Here are some of his notable achievements and roles:

Founding and Entrepreneurial Ventures

• Nyholm has founded seven technology and gaming startups, including:
  • Speednames (later renamed Ascio Technologies), sold to Group NBT for $36 million.3
  • Organic Network, which created the successful open source Wi-Fi firmware project OpenWrt.3
  • Imity, a mobile social radar, acquired by Vodafone for $50 million.3
  • Polar Rose, an image recognition company, sold to Apple for a rumored $29 million.3
  • Astralis, a leading global esports brand, which he co-founded in 2016.23
  • Scattershot, a video game development studio, founded in 2020, where he currently serves as the CEO.34

Venture Capital and Advisory Roles

• Nyholm was a General Partner at Sunstone Capital (now Heartcore Capital) from 2010 to 2016, where he built the largest European VC gaming portfolio and advised several gaming companies, including Mojang, the creator of Minecraft.23
• He is a Senior Advisor at The Raine Group.2

Esports and Gaming

• Nyholm played a crucial role in bringing esports into the mainstream through Astralis and the creation of the BLAST Premier league and other esports tournaments.234
• He has been involved in various other gaming companies, including Neo4j, Seriously, Everywear Games, Peakon, and others.23

Current Roles

• As of 2024, Nyholm has returned to the role of CEO at Astralis, after previously serving as the Chairman of the Board since 2020.4

Public Presence

• Nyholm is a frequent speaker at global technology conferences, sharing insights on leveraging technology for sustainable business growth and building high-performing teams.13

His extensive experience in founding, managing, and investing in growth companies, particularly in the tech and gaming sectors, has established him as a leading voice in the industry.