Nikolaj Nyholm, a prominent Danish entrepreneur, celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday, September 13th. Nyholm is known for his successful ventures in technology and gaming, including founding Speednames and the e-sports team Astralis, as well as advising Mojang, the company behind Minecraft.

Nyholm’s interest in technology began during his childhood in East Africa, where he witnessed how technology could improve people’s lives. His passion was further ignited during a study abroad program in the USA in 1993, where he discovered the first web browser. This experience led him to found Speednames in 1999, a company that sold domain names and was later sold for $36 million in 2007.

Nyholm’s involvement in the gaming industry began with his advisory role at Mojang before Minecraft was sold to Microsoft in 2014. In 2016, he founded Astralis, an e-sports team that was sold for between 75 and 112 million Danish kroner in 2019.

In 2024, Nyholm gained further public recognition as an investor on the Danish television program “Løvens Hule” (The Lion’s Den). Looking ahead, Nyholm aims to foster the growth of more large entrepreneurial companies in Denmark.

Nyholm is married to Niina Kurkinen and has four children. He will celebrate his 50th birthday at a friend’s wedding in Italy.