Lars co-founded EQT Ventures in 2015 and has since been one of the most active partners in the European ecosystem, partnering with over twenty early stage tech founding teams. The majority of these startups operate in the mass-market consumer space, including mobile gaming companies like Small Giant Games (Series A, 2017), Reworks (Seed, 2019), and Popcore (Seed, 2018), as well as consumer health companies like Natural Cycles (Series B, 2018), Lenus Health (Series A, 2020), and Peakon (Series A, 2018), and travel/mobility companies like Holidu (Seed 2015), Dott (Seed 2018), and Candela (Series A, 2022). Lars primarily seeks opportunities to partner with founders by leading an investment round at Seed or Series A, leveraging the combination of capital provided by EQT Ventures and his own experiences building and growing consumer mobile apps at King to accelerate the company’s journey to the global stage.
Before joining EQT Ventures, Lars spent six transformational years (2009-2015) helping King grow from a 50-person flash-games company to the global leader in cross-platform casual gaming, generating more than $2 billion in revenue and employing 2,000 people globally. Lars dedicated his first year at King to playing over 10,000 different flash games, testing and deciphering game mechanics and characteristics that resonate with a mass audience. This experience enabled Lars to produce King’s first Facebook games in 2010/2011 and set up the company’s mobile games division in 2012. As VP of Mobile Games, Lars was instrumental in developing and launching Candy Crush Saga in 2012, a global, cross-platform phenomenon that became the most downloaded and top-grossing mobile game in history.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Lars is a devoted father to three young children, enjoys playing games with and without them, and maintains his physical and mental well-being by engaging in activities like chess, poker, padel, tennis, and occasional short runs.