Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner (Icelandic: Jón; born 29 August 1967 in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
) is an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic-
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
programmer
A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software.
A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
and businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of
Vivaldi Technologies. Before starting the Vivaldi Web browser, he launched a
community site called Vivaldi.net. Tetzchner is also a co-founder and the former CEO of
Opera Software
Opera is a Norwegian multinational technology company and subsidiary of Kunlun that specializes in web browser development, fintech, as well as services such as Opera News and YoYo Games. The company's total user base, including users of its d ...
.
Early life
Jon Stephenson von
Tetzchner is the son of the Icelander Elsa Jónsdóttir and the Norwegian Stephen von Tetzchner, a professor of psychology (and the brother of politician
Michael Tetzschner). Jon Stephenson grew up around Skólabraut in the
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
suburb of
Seltjarnarnes
Seltjarnarnes () is a town in the Capital Region of Iceland. Seltjarnarnes is beside Reykjavik.
It took on its current political form shortly after the Second World War and was formally created as a township in 1947. It is the smallest Icelandic ...
with his grandparents, the doctor Jón Gunnlaugsson and Selma Kaldalóns, the daughter of the doctor and composer
Sigvaldi Kaldalóns
Sigvaldi Kaldalóns (Stefánsson) (13 January 1881 – 28 July 1946) was an Icelandic composer and doctor. Unlike the avant-garde composers of his day, he wrote in a traditional romantic style and composed many of Iceland's most famous and widely ...
. Tetzchner went to secondary school at the
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik Junior College) is a junior college in Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík.
The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains o ...
before continuing his studies in Norway, where he made his career.
Tetzchner holds a master's degree in computer science from the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
.
Opera Software
Tetzchner worked at the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
state phone company (now known as
Telenor
Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, ...
) from 1991 to 1995.
There, he and
Geir Ivarsøy
Geir Ivarsøy (June 27, 1957 – March 9, 2006) was the lead programmer at Opera Software. He and Jon von Tetzchner were part of a research group at the Norwegian state phone company (now known as Telenor) where they developed browsing software c ...
developed browsing software called MultiTorg Opera. The project was abandoned by Telenor, but Ivarsøy and von Tetzchner obtained the rights to the software, formed a company named
Opera Software
Opera is a Norwegian multinational technology company and subsidiary of Kunlun that specializes in web browser development, fintech, as well as services such as Opera News and YoYo Games. The company's total user base, including users of its d ...
in 1995 and continued working on the
Opera browser
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
.
In 1996 it was offered for sale to the public.
On 21 April 2005, Tetzchner proclaimed at an internal meeting of Opera Software that if the download numbers of the browser's new version
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
8 reached one million within four days, he would swim across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
from Norway to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Two days later, on the 23rd, the downloads reached 1,050,000 and Tetzchner had to fulfill his challenge.
The Opera site covered the swim and his quick failure.
Under his leadership, Jon turned
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
into a global company with more than 750 employees in 13 countries. Opera was an early pioneer in mobile web browser and more than 350 million people use Opera.
In January 2010, Tetzchner stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of
Opera Software
Opera is a Norwegian multinational technology company and subsidiary of Kunlun that specializes in web browser development, fintech, as well as services such as Opera News and YoYo Games. The company's total user base, including users of its d ...
, but he continued to serve Opera as a strategic adviser.
In June 2011, Tetzchner announced that he was leaving
Opera Software
Opera is a Norwegian multinational technology company and subsidiary of Kunlun that specializes in web browser development, fintech, as well as services such as Opera News and YoYo Games. The company's total user base, including users of its d ...
over disagreements with management.
Vivaldi Technologies
In December 2013, Tetzchner founded the company
Vivaldi Technologies and launched the
online community
An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, online communities may fe ...
site vivaldi.net, which includes a forum, blogs, chat, photo sharing and a free email service name
Vivaldi Mail
On 27 January 2015, Vivaldi Technologies announced the release of its new web browser
Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
. Its 1.0 version came out in April 2016.
Jon von Tetzchner and his team are making a personal and a feature-rich browser that takes into consideration the needs of every user. Vivaldi is self-funded and aims to be this way where the employees hold equity.
References
External links
*
Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner's blog at Vivaldi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tetzchner, Jon Stephenson Von
1967 births
Living people
21st-century Icelandic businesspeople
Opera Software employees
Icelandic people of Norwegian descent
von
The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''.
Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...