Nicklas Bergman Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerNicklas Bergman

Straight-talking Swedish technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and thinker

After more than 30 years as an entrepreneur and technology investor, Nicklas Bergman has become a master of asking the right questions, framing the present, and mapping the future. He does this in keynote speeches for large audiences, C-suite masterclasses, or more informal advisory roles to senior leaders, investment executives,... Read more

Biography

After more than 30 years as an entrepreneur and technology investor, Nicklas Bergman has become a master of asking the right questions, framing the present, and mapping the future. He does this in keynote speeches for large audiences, C-suite masterclasses, or more informal advisory roles to senior leaders, investment executives, and public servants. He’s the perfect guide for navigating uncertainty and finding business opportunities in the ongoing Techstorm.

As a lifelong science nerd and sci-fi bookworm with deep roots in the European startup and investor ecosystem, Nicklas is the ultimate guide to our tech-infused future. As a tech entrepreneur, business angel, and investment advisor to the EUR 10 billion EIC Fund, he oversees more than 100 startup investments annually, providing him with unique, firsthand insight into the latest trends in business and technology. Over the years, he’s seen companies go up in flames, businesses rise from the ashes, and tiny players conquer the world, sometimes with impressive returns and sometimes with less so.

You don’t invite Nicklas to your event or bring him on as an advisor to provide simplifications and standardized answers. Instead, you invite him to spark a discussion, share uncomfortable truths, find new opportunities, and provide fresh perspectives on otherwise well-known topics.

He is always curious, sometimes provocative, but at all times, with the proper intent of dissecting complex realities to understand implications, see opportunities, and find actionable insights.

In keynotes and masterclasses, Nicklas consistently emphasizes that the best approach to any new scientific discovery, innovation, or technology is one that combines genuine curiosity with a sound dose of skepticism.
This approach stems from his long-standing interest — and perhaps obsession — with everything related to science, innovation, and technology, including science fiction and a sometimes unhealthy dose of being an early adopter. Additionally, after having started, co-founded, and/or invested in dozens of companies over the years, he’s learned that it’s essential to form one’s own opinions about technology, strategy, markets, customer needs, and similar aspects.

The challenge is to stay true to those beliefs, even if your surroundings appear to be overly impressed by the latest scientific findings, innovations, technologies, or gadgets. It helps when you, as Nicklas, have “seen it all before” and experienced several tech bubbles in the past.
The best people to provide valuable, actionable insights to an audience in these times of unprecedented uncertainty are the ones who have experienced it firsthand. It’s fair to say that Nicklas has been there when scaling a truck distribution business in Romania in the early 1990s, commercializing an atomic resolution tweezer in the 2000s, or building a ski resort from scratch during the 2008 financial crisis.

Nicklas puts his money where his mouth is, meaning that he builds and invests in companies within the industries where his clients work, as well as in the technology areas covered in his keynotes.

Nicklas’s goal is to help the audience think for themselves, broaden their perspectives, and learn new tools, rather than providing all the answers. He delivers these keynotes in a highly visual and thought-provoking manner, always tailored to fit the client, event, and audience, and filled with numerous stories from his successes and epic failures as an entrepreneur and investor.

Throughout Nicklas’s career, the common denominators have always been entrepreneurship, technology, and uncertainty. Based on his experiences as a company founder, builder, and investor, this translates into distinct keynote themes at the intersection of society, business, culture, politics, and technology.

“Technological uncertainty is a defining feature of the modern world. Nicklas Bergman draws together an impressive range of insights about where we are coming from and where we are going. He is an astute speaker asking the big questions about what we must do to shape and benefit from the next wave of technologies.” Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation
“Few people understand the impact of new technology like Nicklas Bergman. Nicklas inspires us to understand the potential impact of technology on business and society – and to take responsibility for making sure that technology improves the state of the world.” Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman of Siemens and A.P. Møller Maersk
"Nicklas Bergman is the Malcolm Gladwell of technology." Peter M Fannon, SVP Panasonic North America
“You will be well rewarded by Nicklas Bergman’s insights into emergent technologies likely to have the greatest impact. In a time littered with clichéd recommendations, Bergman offers a thoughtful, singular vision, and practical recommendations for corporate and government leaders seeking to thrive in an era complicated by rapid technological change and shape a profitable, sustainable future.” Amy Zalman, CEO, The World Future Society
“The business impact of disruptive technology is rarely a single phenomenon - you have to understand the whole emerging landscape. Nicklas and his TechStorm framework will bring you that understanding. Fast. I promise.” Olof Hernell, CDO EQT
“Are you looking for an inspirational toolbox on emerging technologies? A catalyst to lift your company’s strategic discussion to a higher, more forward looking but still, operational and concrete level? Built on deep business and technology understanding? Then, Navigating the Techstorm is the book for you!” Pia Irell, Portfolio Development Director, Altor Equity Partners

Popular Talks by Nicklas Bergman

  • The Intelligence Revolution - AI Beyond the Hype

    See beyond the hype around AI prompting and understand the real, immediate impact. Pair this with an understanding of trends in AI, and you will be ideally positioned to stay ahead of the competition. Generative AI is two things at the same time. On the one hand, it’s, at best,...

  • Navigating the Techstorm - Insights Beyond the Hype

    With serious skin in the game as a long-time technology entrepreneur and investor, Nicklas is uniquely positioned to guide an audience through the challenge of understanding how technology is rapidly changing how we do business. As an advisor to management teams, investors, and policymakers, he knows how to navigate these...

  • Geopolitics, Megatrends, and Inevitable Surprises

    Because of his global mindset and presence, paired with continuous interactions with innovators, investors, scholars, policymakers, artists, activists, entrepreneurs, and the like, Nicklas is able to draw thought-provoking conclusions about the state of the world today. Is this as good as it gets? Have we reached the pinnacle of our...

  • Opportunities in Times of Great Uncertainty

    Nicklas’ experiences from starting a company in Eastern Europe in 1991, co-founding a nanotechnology company in 2000, building a ski resort from scratch, and investing in dozens of startups have made him immune to uncertainty. He’s learned that instead of spending your time trying to gather even more information in...

  • The Entrepreneurial Journey - Luck, Timing, and Talent

    Whether it’s co-founding a company in Eastern Europe in 1991 and scaling that to a 300 MEUR business in 15 years, conquering the world of nanotechnology with a ten people team, building a ski resort from scratch (apart from the mountain itself), investing in a North Sea offshore engineering company,...