Short Biography
Ali was born in Canada, grew up in a war zone in Iran, and now lives in the Netherlands. After studying computer science at TU Delft, he founded TransIP at the age of 21, followed later by The Datacenter Group. In 2012, he founded bunq, the EU’s second-largest neobank, focused on digital nomads. bunq has reached notable milestones, including becoming the first EU neobank to achieve structural profitability in 2022. Ali aims to build the first global neobank for digital nomads and, in 2023, applied for a US banking licence to support expansion into the United States.
About Ali Niknam
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Ali Niknam
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Personal Details
Name: Ali Niknam
Year of Birth: 1981
Current Role(s)
2012 – heden CEO van Bunq
2022 – heden Co-founder People for People Foundation
– Owner and founder of TransIP BV
Education
Computer Science (Delft University of Technology)
Fun fact
Comes from a top-level sports family
Favourite Books / Movies / Music
What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz; Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Last updated 15 december 2025
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