Hannu Rajaniemi

Rajaniemi was born in Ylivieska, Finland, in 1978.

He holds a BSc in mathematics from the University of Oulu, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in mathematical physics from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to starting his PhD candidature, he completed his national service as a research scientist for the Finnish Defence Forces.^[1]

While pursuing his PhD in Edinburgh, Rajaniemi joined Writers' Bloc,^[2] a writers' group in Edinburgh that organizes semi-regular spoken-word performances and counts Charles Stross amongst its members.^{[citation needed]}

Early works include his first published short story, "Shibuya No Love",^[3] in 2003 and his short story "Deus Ex Homine" in Nova Scotia, a 2005 anthology of Scottish science fiction and fantasy, which caught the attention of his current literary agent, John Jarrold.^[4][5]

Rajaniemi gained attention in October 2008 when Jarrold secured a three-book deal for him with Gollancz,^[6] on the basis of only twenty-four double-spaced pages.^[4][7] His debut novel, The Quantum Thief, was published in September 2010 by Gollancz in Britain^[8] and was published in May 2011 by Tor Books in the U.S.^[9][10] The novel was nominated for the 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel.^[11] A sequel, The Fractal Prince, was published in September 2012 by Gollancz in Britain, and in October 2012 by Tor in the U.S.^[12] The third book in the series, The Causal Angel, was published in July 2014 by Gollancz in the U.K. and by Tor in the U.S.^[13] A standalone espionage procedural, Summerland was published in 2018 to a mixed reception.^[14][15]

Rajaniemi took inspiration from the literary works of Jules Verne in both his career in science and his science-fiction writing.^[16] Other influences include Maurice Leblanc, Arthur Conan Doyle and architecture blogger Geoff Manaugh.^[17]

Rajaniemi co-founded Helix nanotechnologies.^[18]

He is the founding director of a commercial research organisation ThinkTank Maths.^[1] He cofounded the biotechnology company Helix Nano with Nikolai Eroshenko in 2013.^[19][20] Rajaniemi is the co-founder of Red Queen Bio, a startup aimed at countering the threat of AI bioweapons that spun out of Helix Nano and which attracted investment from Open AI in a $15 million seed round in 2025.^[21]

• 2012 Tähtivaeltaja Award, winner (best science-fiction book published in Finnish language) for The Quantum Thief.^[22]
• 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards, winner, Short Form category, translation of Hannu Rajaniemi's "Elegy for a Young Elk".^[23]
• 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel, nominee, The Quantum Thief^[11]
• 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, third place, The Quantum Thief^[24]
• 2013 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, nominee, The Fractal Prince^[25]

As of 2014^[update], Rajaniemi lived in San Francisco, California, with his wife.^[26] Before moving to the U.S., he lived in the United Kingdom for over ten years.^[27]

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