Nicklas Bergman

About

Nicklas Bergman

Straight-talking Swedish entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and thinker, Nicklas Bergman understands and interpret the technological megatrends currently shaping business, society, and culture. He works with forward-thinking leaders and organizations, established and new, to help them navigate an increasingly uncertain future. He’s the perfect guide to take an audience from neglect and skepticism to curiosity and preparedness for the challenges and opportunities the future will hold. In other words, inviting Nicklas is a fool-proof way to future-proof your organization.

30+ years working as an entrepreneur have given Nicklas an immense understanding of building companies across different regions and economic climates. From being the co-founder and largest investor in an electron microscopy company featuring unique patented nanoscale technologies to developing a Scandinavian ski resort that has attracted investments close to 200 million EUR to setting up a Volvo distribution network in Romania that grew into a 300 million EUR business, Nicklas has been able to capitalize in emerging areas that are often shrouded in ambiguity and uncertainty thanks to an unflinching curiosity and desire to understand how trends work.

20+ years working as a technology investor have taught him to stay agile in times of great uncertainty. He has seen companies go up in flames, businesses rise from the ashes, and tiny players conquer the world. At times, he has witnessed returns fifty-two times the size of his investment. Other times, zero. This hands-on, curious, and unyielding approach to exploring what comes next with both a strong business and tech background gives Nicklas a unique perspective. He uses this hard-earned experience as one of six investment committee members at the EIC Fund, an EUR 5 billion deep tech VC fund investing in more than 100 European startups annually.

10+ years working as a futurist has turned him into probably the most pragmatic futurist in the tech space. Nicklas lives with technology 24/7 and meets with scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and fellow investors daily. He’s optimistic about the promises emerging from new technologies but is also concerned that society is not ready for the upcoming techstorm. Some years ago, he cleared his schedule and embarked on a journey to understand where technology takes us. The result was Navigating the Techstorm: The Business Impact of Technology Beyond the Hype (Lid Publishing, London). The book was listed in Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 10 business books to read in 2018.

Since then, he divides his time between technology investments, a couple of skunkworks projects, and speaking and advising about how others can best navigate the opportunities and challenges of the near future. Nicklas believes we’re entering an era in which technology will redefine who we are and that it’s no longer just a question of what technology can do for us but what we should allow technology to do. We must discuss the meaning and direction of any technological innovation or scientific breakthrough. Technology is pointless unless it serves to improve people’s lives, and ethical perspectives are getting more and more complicated as new innovations and gadgets enter our lives.