Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen
About Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen
Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen is a Danish-Portuguese investor based in London. He grew up across Africa, in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania and Libya, after his family fled the Angolan Civil War as refugees. He served with the Royal Danish Guards. He holds a BSc from King's College London, an MSc from Oxford (Keble College) and an MBA from London Business School, where he sat on the Board of Governors and chaired the Endowment Fund.
He spent a decade in Silicon Valley. He was among the first 25 employees at Dropbox, where as Head of Mobile he worked on partnerships with Samsung and other OEMs that helped the company reach its first 100 million users. He then joined Uber when it operated in fewer than 20 cities. As Vice President he built global alliances with Verizon and América Móvil that supported its international expansion.
He joined Balderton Capital in London as a General Partner in 2015 and stayed until 2021. During that period Balderton led the Seed and Series A rounds in Revolut. In 2021 he co-founded 2xN, an early-stage fund focused on deeptech and quantum. In June 2025 he joined Owl Ventures as a General Partner. There he leads expansion across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and other emerging markets. Owl describes itself as the largest venture firm focused only on education technology. Crunchbase lists its assets under management at $2.2 billion. PitchBook also lists him as a Venture Partner at WndrCo and a board member at Voi and Preply.
Outside investing, he filed a patent for genetically modified mosquitoes that light up when carrying malaria. He funds malaria research in Angola through nonprofit partnerships. In 2024 he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for malaria research.
Crunchbase records 23 investments across 22 portfolio companies for Lars. It shows 7 exits, 2 of them by IPO, and no lead investments. PitchBook classifies him as an active individual angel investor and lists dated deals including Colossal Biosciences (January 2023), uLesson (December 2021), StudySmarter (October 2021), Monarch Money (July 2021), OpenSea (July 2021) and Celus (July 2021). The databases count his investments differently, so treat the totals as approximate.
His personal investments sit alongside his fund roles. Many of the names below were made through Balderton, 2xN or Owl, or as co-investments. The public sources do not separate personal angel cheques from fund deals.
Crunchbase and Dealroom show him taking board seats, including at Yassir, Voi and Hiya. Dealroom also lists earlier board roles at Labster (2016 to 2025), Soundtrack Your Brand (2016 to 2022) and Tempow (2018 to 2021).
Lars's AI work is mostly through Owl Ventures. Owl's announcement of his hire says he will focus on impactful, AI-driven innovation in education. It also says AI remains central to Owl's investment thesis. His Crunchbase bio says he backs founders who use AI and breakthrough technologies to make learning more accessible and effective.
Owl's announcement says he has backed companies in education, mobility, quantum and AI, including co-investments with Owl. The sources I found do not name specific AI-only companies or give investment years for them. His closest deep-technology track record is in quantum computing through 2xN, with Quantinuum, Oxford Ionics, QSimulate and Sparrow Quantum. Oxford Ionics was acquired by IonQ in a deal worth $1 billion.
His current institutional focus is education technology, with an emphasis on AI-enabled learning, across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and other emerging markets. Earlier in 2xN he backed early-stage deeptech and quantum companies. At Balderton he invested across consumer, mobility, fintech and mobile software. His portfolio includes European and African companies as well as US ones.
He has publicly tied his investing to education, health and innovation as drivers of social change. A check size for his personal angel investing is not public, so none is stated here. Founders should confirm fit and stage directly before pitching.
- Revolut: fintech. Balderton led the Seed and Series A rounds while Lars was a General Partner there.
- Quantinuum: quantum computing company, valued above $10 billion according to his bio. Backed through 2xN.
- Oxford Ionics: quantum computing company, acquired by IonQ in a $1 billion deal. Backed through 2xN.
- Sparrow Quantum and QSimulate: quantum technology companies in the 2xN portfolio.
- Labster: virtual science lab education company. Lars was on its board from 2016 to 2025 per Dealroom.
- uLesson (December 2021) and StudySmarter (October 2021): education technology companies, with deal dates from PitchBook.
- Kukua: education company listed in his portfolio.
- Yassir and Voi: mobility companies where he holds board roles.
- Monta and NoTraffic: mobility and transport technology companies.
- Colossal Biosciences: biotechnology company, January 2023 per PitchBook.
- Hiya, Monarch Money, OpenSea, Celus, Octant Bio, Rahko, Pocket, Vivino and Blue Bottle Coffee: mobile, fintech and frontier technology companies in his portfolio.
- crunchbase.com/person/lars-fjeldsoe-nielsen
- theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/COF/pressreleases/3291747
- owlvc.com/content-hub/lars-fjeldsoe-nielsen-joins-owl-ventures-as-gene
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/234461-17
- dealroom.co/people/lars_fjeldsoe_nielsen_1
- starthub.london.edu/the-navy-seals-of-vc-are-here
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Fjeldsoe-Nielsen
- signal.nfx.com/investors/lars-fjeldsoe-nielsen
Investing activity
Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen has made 23 investments according to Crunchbase across 22 portfolio companies, and has seen 7 exits, 2 of them by IPO and founded 1 company.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen
Does Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen invest in AI startups?
Yes, mainly in education. As an Owl Ventures General Partner he focuses on AI-driven learning companies. Specific AI-only angel deals are not named in the public sources I found.
What is Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen's check size?
No check size is public for his personal angel investing, so none is stated here. Third-party databases estimate figures for his fund activity. Those are estimates, not his own statements.
What stage does Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen invest in?
His public track record is mainly early-stage. That includes seed and Series A at Balderton, and early-stage deeptech at 2xN. Owl Ventures invests across stages in education technology.
Which regions does Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen cover?
He leads Owl Ventures' expansion across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and other emerging markets. He is based in London.
What companies has Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen backed?
His portfolio includes Revolut (via Balderton), Quantinuum, Oxford Ionics, Labster, uLesson, StudySmarter, Yassir, Voi, Monarch Money, OpenSea and Colossal Biosciences. The full list is in the portfolio section.
How can founders pitch Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen?
He is on LinkedIn and X. Founders in education and AI-enabled learning can also reach him through Owl Ventures. Open with your fit to his education, mobility or deeptech background.
Is Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen an angel investor?
Yes. Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 23 investments and 7 exits.
Where is Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen based?
Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen is based in London, England, United Kingdom.
How can founders reach Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen?
Founders on Lounge can see Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.