Janus Friis facts for kids

Janus Friis (born 26 June 1976) is an entrepreneur from Denmark. An entrepreneur is someone who starts new businesses. He is famous for helping to create popular programs like Kazaa and Skype.

Kazaa was an application for file-sharing. This means it let people share computer files with each other. Skype was a program for making calls over the internet. It used a special technology called peer-to-peer. This means computers connect directly to each other without needing a main server.

In 2005, Janus Friis and his business partner, Niklas Zennström, sold Skype to eBay. Later, in 2011, Skype was sold to Microsoft.

Friis and Zennström also created Joost. This was a software program for watching TV shows and videos online. Its parts were sold in 2009. Friis also started a video streaming company called Vdio in 2011.

In 2014, Friis and Ahti Heinla started Starship Technologies. This company builds small robots that can drive themselves to deliver things.

Building a Career in Tech

Janus Friis did not go to college. He left high school and got a job at a company called CyberCity. This company was one of the first to provide internet in Denmark.

He met Niklas Zennström in 1996. At that time, Zennström was in charge of Tele2 in Denmark. Friis was hired to help customers there. Friis and Zennström worked together at Tele2 to launch get2net, another internet company, and a website called everyday.com.

After this, the two partners decided to leave Tele2. Friis moved to Amsterdam in 2000. There, they started working on KaZaA. KaZaA became very popular for sharing files. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström also created the FastTrack protocol in 2001. This was the technology that KaZaA used.

Because their peer-to-peer technology was so successful, Friis and Zennström started another company called Joltid. This company creates and sells peer-to-peer software to other businesses.

Friis also helped start Altnet. This was a network that sold music to people who used KaZaA.

In 2010, Friis started the online music streaming service Rdio with Zennström. This service allowed people to listen to music over the internet. Rdio later closed down in 2015.

In 2012, Friis also helped create Wire. This is a secure platform for people to work together online. It uses special encryption to keep digital information safe.

Friis and Ahti Heinla founded Starship Technologies in 2014. Their goal was to make small robots that could deliver packages on their own. In 2016, these robots were tested on the streets of San Francisco.

Awards and Recognition

Janus Friis has received several important awards for his work.

In 2006, Time Magazine included him in their list of the 100 most influential people. This list recognizes people who have a big impact on the world.

Also in 2006, Friis received "The IT Prize" in Denmark. This award is given by the Danish IT industry for great work and new ideas.

He and Zennström also won the 2006 Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award. This award is for people who have used technology to change an industry or society.

See also

In Spanish: Janus Friis para niños