Atomico, tech investment firm by Skype co-founder, hires for Tokyo office

Atomico, a technology investment firm started by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, has announced in a press release the hiring of Shinichi Iwata, former President of Skype Japan, to head their new Tokyo office.

The firm, headquartered in London and possessing offices in São Paulo, Beijing, and Istanbul, invests in technology startups around the world, primarily in the Internet arena. It has made more than 50 investments on four continents, including companies like Skype,  Rovio, and MyGengo, a Tokyo-based startup that crowdsources translations. Read more

Singapore’s IDA participates in US$10mil investment in Quid

Quid, a San Francisco-based data collection and visualization firm, has received a Series C funding of US$10 million from an international slate of investors, some well-known (see press release). Read more

Cofounder of Kazaa and Skype, Niklas Zennström Speaks To Singapore Audience

For a time, Niklas Zennström had to share an apartment with two people: His wife and business partner Janus Friis. The environment for technopreneurs was tough then, at the turn of the millenium. The dot-com bubble had burst, and investors were scared of putting money into Kazaa, a peer-to-peer file sharing software.

Good thing he had help. “My wife was super supportive and she had a good job at the telecommunications company where she had a good salary, so she could pay the rent and put food on the table,” he said at a talk organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore on 29th April. Read more

Cofounder of Skype, Niklas Zennström In Town To Speak

Next Friday 29th April as part of IDA’s Infocomm LIVE! series, cofounder of Skype, Niklas Zennström will be in town to share his views on the latest trends, his entrepreneurship experience, and how he picks startups to invest in. Read more