Nicolai Wadstrom

Mr. Wadstrom is a Partner and Co-Head of the Ares Venture Capital Group, BootstrapLabs, an Ares company, where he focuses on venture capital investing. He is also Co-Head of the Ares AI & Innovation Group, which focuses on driving internal AI strategy.

Prior to joining Ares in 2024, Mr. Wadstrom was the Founder, CEO, and General Partner of BootstrapLabs, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley with an applied AI investment thesis since 2015, where he worked with AI portfolio company founders to build and scale technology, products, teams, and operations. Prior to this he was an angel investor in early-stage technology companies in the US and Europe.

Mr. Wadstrom is a serial entrepreneur that has built companies since his early 20’s and brings over 30 years of entrepreneurial and operational experience as a founder, CEO, and CTO, launching and growing software technology companies across various domains, such as VR, internet, financial trading systems, and enterprise software. He is currently a member or observer of the board of Charm Solutions, Klear, and Hayden AI among others.

He is a frequent industry speaker on topics such as artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, innovation, disruption, startups, venture capital and how AI technology can be leveraged to build a better future. Mr. Wadstrom has been called to speak and advise at events organized by Interpol, the United Nations, various US government agencies, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Super Returns conferences, and many others.