Daniel Ek

Daniel Ek was born in 1983 and grew up in Rågsved, Stockholm, and began building websites for clients as a teenager. He enrolled at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology but left after about eight weeks, and went on to pursue internet entrepreneurship.⁠[1]

Before founding Spotify, Ek created the online advertising company Advertigo, which he later sold to Tradedoubler; he also held a management position at Tradera and served as chief technology officer of Stardoll. In 2006, he co-founded Spotify with Martin Lorentzon, pushing forward an on-demand music streaming service.⁠[2][1]

Ek received the 2012 KTH Great Prize. The university recognized him for applying information technology to music distribution and for business model innovation; at 29, he was the youngest recipient in the prize’s 67-year history up to that point. The prize is an honorary award and does not mean that he completed a KTH degree.⁠[3]

In 2015, Ek and Ash Pournouri co-founded Brilliant Minds, which brings together people from technology, culture, and public life for exchange. The project later established a foundation in 2018, with Stockholm as the center of its activities.⁠[4]

In 2018, Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne co-founded Neko Health, entering the field of preventive health screening. Nilsonne runs the company and serves as chief executive officer; Ek takes part in this long-term project as a co-founder.⁠[5][6]

Spotify went public through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange on April 3, 2018. In an open letter the previous day, Ek explained that the company had chosen to let existing shareholders sell their shares rather than follow the path of a traditional underwritten initial public offering, and stressed that the listing was only one stage in the company’s development.⁠[7]

In episode 484 of The Tim Ferriss Show, Ek discussed replacing long-term fixed roles with missions of about two years, so that individual responsibilities adjust as the company develops; he argued that faster experimentation and feedback help organizations learn. These reflect his management experience and views, not a universal rule applicable to all companies.⁠[8][9]

Ek co-founded the investment firm Prima Materia with Shakil Khan. Founded in 2021, the firm emphasizes long-term ownership and active involvement in building a small number of companies, focusing on projects that require sustained investment in technology. Prima Materia later became a backer of companies including Neko Health and Helsing.⁠[5][10][11]

Ek issued a statement on the controversy over the spread of COVID-19-related information on Spotify, acknowledging that the platform had not communicated its content policies clearly enough. The company published its platform rules and announced it would add advisories to podcasts discussing COVID-19, directing users to a related information hub. He named transparency of the rules and preserving room for creator expression as issues that needed to be addressed together.⁠[12]

Ek announced to employees that Spotify planned to cut about 17% of its positions. He attributed the decision to slowing economic growth, rising costs of capital, and the cost structure created by earlier expansion, saying the company needed to become more efficient with fewer resources. This is his explanation of the reasons for the restructuring and does not mean the effects of the layoffs have been verified.⁠[13]

Helsing announced a €600 million funding round led by Prima Materia. The announcement listed Ek as Helsing’s chairman and quoted his support for building European defense technology. The €600 million is the total size of the round, not Ek’s personal investment; the announcement also noted that the round remained subject to required approvals.⁠[11]

Musicians including Massive Attack protested Ek’s investment in Helsing. Massive Attack said it had asked its record label to remove its music from Spotify’s services in all territories, arguing that defense investment conflicted with the values of making music. Spotify responded that Spotify and Helsing are separate companies; Helsing said its technology is used for deterrence in Europe and the defense of Ukraine, and denied that it is deployed in other theaters of war. These are the respective claims of each party, and the removal request does not mean that all of the music had been taken down at the time.⁠[14]

Ek appeared on David Senra’s eponymous interview podcast, in an episode released on September 28, 2025. On the show, he said that for many years he had no longer run Spotify’s product in the traditional sense: Gustav runs product, and while Ek remains involved in the product and is frequently asked for feedback, he no longer runs the product meetings. He also said he believes trust is one of the least-discussed issues and the number one reason most organizations break down and have to rely on processes and bureaucracy.⁠[15][15][15][15][15][15][15]

Under a leadership change announced on September 30, 2025, Ek moved from chief executive officer to executive chairman effective January 1, 2026, with Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström succeeding him as co-CEOs. Ek’s responsibilities shifted to long-term strategy, capital allocation, and board work. A note from Spotify’s co-CEOs in January 2026 confirmed that the new leadership arrangement had taken effect.⁠[16][17]

Helsing’s Series E announcement listed Ek and Tom Enders together as co-chairmen. The round totaled $1.8 billion, and the company announced a valuation of $18 billion; the announcement provides the public basis for his latest role at Helsing.⁠[18]

Spotify: Founder and executive chairman; Official website: https://www.spotify.com/ (opens in a new window). Neko Health: Co-founder; Official website: https://www.nekohealth.com/ (opens in a new window). Prima Materia: Co-founder; Official website: https://primamateria.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2][5][10]

X: Public account: https://x.com/eldsjal (opens in a new window). His personal public X account is @eldsjal, which matches the account given in the introduction to his original interview with Tim Ferriss.⁠[19][9]