Atomico Research
Investment Thesis
Atomico is a London-based, growth-and-venture-stage investment firm founded in 2006 by Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype, with the explicit founding mission of proving that world-class technology companies could be built from Europe without needing to relocate to Silicon Valley. The firm's thesis is founder-centric: it backs ambitious, technically strong founders building category-defining companies, and it is largely sector-agnostic, ranging across consumer, enterprise, fintech, healthcare, deep tech, and climate. Atomico is one of the few European venture firms known for making "moonshot" bets on deep and frontier technology alongside more conventional software and consumer investments. The firm publishes an influential annual "State of European Tech" report (authored by Partner Tom Wehmeier) that has become a reference point for the European ecosystem and increasingly doubles as policy advocacy for European tech competitiveness.
Sector Focus
Atomico organizes its "areas of interest" around: digital work and enterprise AI/automation, internet infrastructure and security, future of finance, mobility, industrial automation, frontier tech, climate/"planet positive" technology, and engaged consumer businesses. In practice the portfolio spans fintech (Klarna, Stripe), gaming (Supercell), AI/language (DeepL), digital health and healthtech (Hinge Health, Neko Health, Healx, Kheiron Medical), mobility (Lime, Wolt), HR tech (Peakon), and design/dev tooling (Framer).
Stage Focus
Following its 2024 fund close, Atomico runs two dedicated vehicles: Atomico Venture VI, which targets Series A with select opportunistic seed investments, and Atomico Growth VI, which targets Series B through pre-IPO growth rounds. This gives the firm a full-lifecycle mandate from early Series A through late-stage growth and pre-IPO financing.
Check Size
Reported check sizes for venture-stage deals typically fall in the $5M-$20M range at Series A, scaling significantly larger for growth-stage rounds via the dedicated growth fund (continuation and expansion checks up to and beyond $50M for later-stage, pre-IPO companies).
Lead Tendency
Atomico has a strong reputation as a lead or co-lead investor, particularly at Series A and in growth rounds, consistent with its full-lifecycle, high-conviction investing style.
Recent Activity
Atomico closed its largest-ever fundraise in September 2024: $1.24B split across Atomico Venture VI ($485M) and Atomico Growth VI ($754M), and the firm is actively deploying from both vehicles. Most recently, Atomico participated in Neko Health's ~$700M Series C (July 2026) alongside Lightspeed and General Catalyst. Two portfolio companies achieved public listings in the past year: Klarna listed on the NYSE (September 2025) and Lime listed on Nasdaq (July 2026). The firm was also a finalist (alongside EQT) to manage the EU's €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund, a mandate ultimately awarded to EQT in 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
Atomico has invested in 200+ companies since inception, with roughly two dozen unicorns, several IPOs (Klarna, Lime), and dozens of acquisitions in its history. Marquee names include Klarna, Stripe, Supercell, DeepL, Hinge Health, Wolt (acquired by DoorDash), Peakon (acquired by Workday), Lime, Neko Health, Healx, Kheiron Medical, and Framer.
Team
- Niklas Zennström — Co-Founder & CEO. Co-founder of Skype; founded Atomico in 2006 to back European founders at global scale.
- Ben Blume — Partner. Leads investments in AI-driven enterprise automation and software for complex physical industries (logistics, manufacturing, healthcare).
- Tom Wehmeier — Partner & Head of Insights. Runs Atomico's Insights team and authors the annual State of European Tech report; sits on the investment committee.
- Terese Hougaard — Investment Partner, venture team.
- Sasha Vidiborskiy — Investment Partner, venture team.
- Andreas Helbig — Investment Partner, venture team.
- Laura Connell — Partner, growth team.
- Luca Eisenstecken — Principal, growth team.
- Hillary Ball — Principal, growth team.
Decision Process
Atomico operates as a partnership with a formal investment committee (Tom Wehmeier is noted as sitting on it); larger growth checks are underwritten by a dedicated growth team separate from the core venture team.
Founder Preferences
Atomico favors technically strong, globally ambitious founders — frequently repeat or well-networked entrepreneurs — building companies that can scale beyond a single European market to global relevance, and is comfortable backing capital-intensive, science- or engineering-driven "deep tech" bets alongside traditional software.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Europe (with a strong Nordic and UK bias reflecting its founders' backgrounds and headquarters in London), extending selectively to global follow-on and growth investments as portfolio companies scale internationally.