Janus Friis
Born 1976 · Age 49
Danish entrepreneur best known as co‑founder of KaZaA and Skype; serial founder across P2P, streaming, messaging and robotics (Rdio, Joost, Vdio, Wire, Starship).
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Janus Friis was born on 26 June 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Left high school (dropped out)
Friis dropped out of high school and pursued self‑taught computing/tech work (exact year approximated from sources indicating he left school before joining an ISP).
Started work at CyberCity help desk
Hired on the help desk of CyberCity, one of Denmark's early ISPs; early practical technology training.
Met Niklas Zennström; joined Tele2 Denmark
Met future business partner Niklas Zennström; at that time Zennström headed Tele2 in Denmark and Friis was hired to run customer support.
Co‑launched get2net (ISP)
Friis and Zennström worked together at Tele2 to launch get2net, a Danish internet service provider.
Co‑launched everyday.com portal
Friis and Zennström also launched the web portal Everyday.com while collaborating at Tele2.
Left Tele2 with Zennström to pursue startups
The partners left Tele2 to focus on independent ventures (approximate year, sources indicate late 1990s).
Moved into Amsterdam to develop KaZaA
Friis moved into Zennström's small Amsterdam apartment (Jan 2000) to begin development of the peer‑to‑peer file sharing application KaZaA.
Founded KaZaA (peer‑to‑peer file sharing)
Friis co‑founded KaZaA, a widely used second‑generation P2P file‑sharing application distributed for free.
Co‑founded Altnet (commercial music network)
Friis co‑founded Altnet, a network intended to sell commercial music to KaZaA users.
Co‑developed FastTrack protocol
Friis and Zennström developed the FastTrack file‑sharing network protocol used by KaZaA.
Founded Joltid (P2P traffic optimization)
From KaZaA technology they co‑founded Joltid to develop and market peer‑to‑peer solutions and traffic optimization; Joltid later held key networking patents.
Joltid holds key networking patents (P2P tech)
Joltid became the holder of several networking patents central to the pair's P2P technology (patent portfolio protected their tech and licensing).
Dutch court order against KaZaA
In November 2001 Dutch courts ordered KaZaA to ensure copyrighted material was not shared — beginning major legal battles.
KaZaA assets sold to various interests (incl. Sharman)
Following legal pressure KaZaA was sold quickly to various interests including the Australian Sharman Networks (exact structure/timing varied).
Launched Skype (VoIP)
Friis and Zennström introduced Skype, a peer‑to‑peer VoIP application offering free Internet voice calls and fee‑based premium services.
Settlements from P2P legal disputes (cumulative)
Subsequent lawsuits related to KaZaA resulted in settlements totaling more than $100M paid by Sharman, Friis and Zennström (aggregate; timing spanned 2003–2006).
Skype reached >50 million users
By 2005 Skype had amassed more than 50 million users, primarily in Europe and Asia (user milestone).
Sold Skype to eBay
In September 2005 Friis and Zennström sold Skype to eBay for up to $2.6 billion; they remained with the company after the deal.
Received Denmark's 'IT‑prisen' (The IT Prize)
Awarded IT‑prisen in Denmark in 2006 for work and innovation.
Named to Time's 100 Most Influential People
Friis was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2006 (with Niklas Zennström).
Co‑recipient: Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award
Friis and Zennström were co‑recipients of the 2006 Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for IT changing industry/society.
Founded Atomico Ventures
Friis and Zennström founded Atomico (investment fund) to invest in European technology companies with global potential.
Co‑founded Joost (internet TV distribution)
Friis and Zennström developed Joost, a P2P‑based interactive application for distributing TV shows and video content over the web.
Joost beta released to invited users
A beta (test) version of Joost was made available to invited users in early 2007.
Friis and partner stepped down from operational roles
By 2007 Friis and Zennström had stepped down from day‑to‑day operational leadership in some of their ventures post‑eBay sale.
Joost official launch with global sponsors
Joost officially launched in May 2007 with global sponsors including Coca‑Cola, Intel, Kraft, Microsoft and Nike.
Maintained ownership interest in Skype via Silver Lake arrangements
Following the 2009 investor buyout, Friis maintained an ownership interest in Skype through Silver Lake Partners and related arrangements.
Sold Joost assets to Adconion Media Group
The assets of Joost were sold to the online advertising company Adconion Media Group in November 2009.
Skype sold by eBay to private investor group (Silver Lake); founders held minority stake
In late 2009 eBay sold Skype to an investor group (led by Silver Lake); Friis and Zennström acquired/maintained a minority stake through arrangements with Joltid/Silver Lake.
Founded Rdio (music streaming)
Friis and Zennström founded Rdio, a subscription‑based music streaming service.
Founded Vdio (video streaming startup)
Friis launched Vdio, an independent video streaming startup (2011).
Skype sold to Microsoft
Microsoft acquired Skype from the investor group in May 2011 for $8.5 billion; Friis had maintained an ownership interest through Silver Lake arrangements.
Co‑founded Wire (secure collaboration / messaging)
Friis co‑founded Wire, a secure collaboration platform employing end‑to‑end encryption.
Co‑founded Starship Technologies
Friis and Ahti Heinla founded Starship Technologies to develop small self‑driving delivery robots.
Split with fiancée Aura Dione
Friis was engaged to Danish recording artist Aura Dione; the couple split in April 2015.
Rdio filed for bankruptcy; assets sold to Pandora
Rdio filed for Chapter 11 in November 2015 and sold key assets to Pandora for about $75 million.
Starship robots tested on San Francisco sidewalks
In Sept 2016 Starship's small delivery robots were authorized for street tests in San Francisco.
Recent public net worth estimate
Some public profiles (aggregated media sources) estimate Friis's net worth at approximately $1.3 billion (Jan 2025 estimate reported by some outlets).
Key Achievement Ages
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