Jane Walerud
Jane Christine Walerud Boreta (born 13 November 1961) is a Sweden-based entrepreneur and investor.[1] She has been involved in over 15 startups[2] since the early 2000s, including Klarna, Bluetail, Tobii Technology,[3] Teclo Networks, and GraphMaTech. She is member of The Swedish Government Innovation Council.
Early life[edit]
Walerud was born in the US and moved to Sweden when she was 20 years old after meeting her husband, Bengt.[1] She studied Cognitive Psychology and Computer Science at Stanford University. Jane and Bengt Walerud have a daughter, Caroline,[1] who is also a private investor and entrepreneur.[2]
Career[edit]
Walerud worked as a Sales Manager at Erlang Systems in 1997. She left in 1998 to co-found Bluetail, a company which developed all of its products in Erlang. It was then sold for $152 million to Alteon Networks.[4]
In 2004, she met Sebastian Siemiatkowski, founder of Klarna and invested €60,000 for 10% of the company.[5] She also introduced the founders to a team of programmers who helped them build their platform in exchange for 37% shares.[6][7]
Walerud started Teclo Networks with a new team in 2010. They developed a technology to increase the speed of mobile broadband. After six years, she and her other co-founders sold Teclo Networks to Sandvine.[8]
In 2016, Walerud invested in a real time digital coach for runners and cross-country skiers called Racefox.[9] She invested 6 million SEK in the company and became one of the board members. In 2018, she invested in a functionalized graphene company named Graphmatech.[10]
She also formed her own venture company called Walerud Ventures together with her husband, Bengt, and their daughter, Caroline.[11] They join pre-seed and seed companies focusing on high technology such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and durability.
Awards[edit]
In 2015, Jane was elected into SUP46s Swedish Startup Hall of Fame.[12]
In 2017 she was awarded a gold medal by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.[13]
Sweden's Business Week named her one of the most powerful women in Sweden in 2017,[14] 2018,[15] 2019,[16] and 2020.[17]
In 2019, she was awarded H.M. The King's Medal for her significant efforts in Swedish business.[18]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c mark.malmstrom@svd.se, Mark Malmström |. "Serieentreprenör prisades av kronprinsessan Victoria". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ a b "Team. Jane Walerud". walerud.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ^ "Jane Walerud går till Tobii Technology". Computer Sweden (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ Roundup, A. WSJ com News (2000-08-28). "Alteon to Acquire Bluetail For About $152 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ "Sveriges 52 mäktigaste tech-investerare: Jane Walerud". digital.di.se. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ "Interview: from Burger King to boardroom, how Klarna became". www.whiteboardmag.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ "Affärsängeln fokuserar på svenska startups". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ "Jane Walerud Sells Teclo Networks - Frees Up Capital For Investments - Swedish Startup Space". Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ "Angel investor Jane Walerud just invested in a digital coach for cross-country skiers". nordic.businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ "Jane Walerud satsar på supermaterial för industrin". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-09-14.
- ^ "Familjen Walerud bildar riskkapitalbolag". digital.di.se. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- ^ "Stjärnängeln Jane Walerud väljs in i Swedish Startup Hall of Fame". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ "Medaljörer med den äran". www.iva.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ "Näringslivets mäktigaste kvinnor 2017: Techprofilerna". Veckans affärer. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
- ^ "Näringslivets mäktigaste kvinnor 2018: Investerarna". Veckans affärer. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
- ^ "Näringslivets mäktigaste kvinna 2019: Investerarna". Veckans affärer. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
- ^ "Hela listan: Här är näringslivets 125 mäktigaste kvinnor". Dagens industri. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
- ^ "Medaljförläningar 6 juni 2019 - Sveriges Kungahus". www.kungahuset.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-09-14.