If you can think it
you can do it
Welcome to Peter Alfred-Adekeye’s bio page
A serial entrepreneur, with a passion for innovation, an eye for opportunities, and a deep desire to use his talents to help others.
Origin and Early Life
Adeyemi Peter Alfred-Adekeye is a distinguished Nigerian-British technology entrepreneur, self-made billionaire, and visionary innovator. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, by his British Royal Navy military veteran father, Peter embodies the spirit of a true global citizen. His personal journey reflects a seamless blend of cultures, with residences spanning Palo Alto, Zurich, London, and Monaco.
Peter’s early education was a reflection of his intellectual curiosity and leadership abilities. He completed primary school by the age of nine at Maryland Convent Private School in Lagos, and then moved on to CMS Grammar School, graduating at just fourteen. An exceptional student, Peter served as head of the school’s science club, where he often took the initiative to teach his peers in the absence of a teacher. The club met every Saturday to build prototypes of rockets, flying cars, helicopters, and more. Peter's academic journey continued at the Federal School of Arts and Sciences in Victoria Island, Lagos, before he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he also practised the art and discipline of Ninjitsu in his spare time.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
Peter’s entrepreneurial journey began with his first startup—exporting sustainable teak wood from Nigeria to India. This venture propelled him to millionaire status in his twenties, marking the beginning of his legacy in business. Fuelled by a passion for technology, Peter then moved to Palo Alto, California, to pursue post-graduate studies at Stanford University. During this time, he quickly established himself as a visionary, advocating for the adoption of emerging technologies.
Boom
Peter is perhaps best known as the founder and CEO of Boom (link) , a revolutionary global online commerce, payment, and settlement system for cash. Boom’s mission is to connect the trillions of dollars in offline cash, circulating across cash-based economies in various currencies, to the digital economy, enabling billions of individuals and businesses with no access to banking, to spend, save and receive cash online, without banking. Prior to Boom, the only way to transact online was through the banking system.
Boom, which Peter personally funded with $117 million in seed capital, harnesses blockchain technology for instant transaction settlements. The ecosystem also features a decentralised exchange for tokenised currencies, commodities, and other real-world assets, as well as a SuperApp with a marketplace, wallet, and secure in-app messaging, which further extend its transformative impact.
The Boom Foundation (link), the non-profit arm of the ecosystem, has committed $2.5 billion in Boomcoins for social good. Key initiatives, such as Boomcoin-2-Meals, aim to feed millions of Nigerians affected by the ongoing food insecurity crisis.
PHOTON
In 2025, Boom launched PHOTON (link), a groundbreaking pan-African initiative aimed at creating a gigawatt-scale AI data centre network across the African continent. PHOTON is poised to deliver the high-performance computing infrastructure necessary for advanced AI processing, positioning Africa as a leader in cutting-edge technology and creating new opportunities for both Africa and other emerging markets.
Before founding Boom, Peter founded and led Multiven, a cybersecurity software company that became a global leader in providing pre-emptive defence for critical Internet infrastructures. Under his leadership, Multiven offered software integrity maintenance and cyber-defence services to a wide array of global clients. Notable clients included Fortune 500 companies and government agencies such as the US Department of Defense (Army, Navy, and Air Force), the White House, IKEA, AB InBev, Barclays Bank, Thales, Capgemini, MIT, Dassault Systems, Orange, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia, TF1, and more.
In addition to its cybersecurity services, Multiven played a pivotal role in advocating for fair competition in the multi-billion dollar software maintenance market, culminating in a landmark antitrust legal victory (link) against Cisco Systems (link). This case helped preserve the oneness of the Internet (link) and opened up the infrastructure software maintenance market. In its over 20 years of operations, none of Multiven’s clients ever experienced a breach under its watch.
Pingsta
In February 2007, Peter founded Pingsta, an exclusive, invitation-only platform designed to connect elite engineers, cryptographers and security researchers for collaborative problem-solving on complex issues impacting the Internet. The platform has attracted luminaries such as the late Dr. Lawrence Roberts, the designer of ARPAnet, the precursor to the modern internet; Tony Li, co-inventor of BGP-4, the foundational routing protocol for the internet's backbone; and the late Hal Finney, a pioneering cryptographer who created Bitcoin and blockchain technology.
Air
Maison
In 2018, spotting a significant gap in the cosmetics industry, Peter expanded his entrepreneurial ventures into the beauty sector with the creation of Air Maison—the world’s first African-owned luxury makeup brand. Despite having no prior experience in the cutthroat beauty industry, Peter recognised the need for premium-quality, affordably priced cosmetics tailored to women of colour. Air Maison’s cruelty-free products, which feature unique African ingredients, quickly garnered international acclaim, including features in British Vogue (link). Today, Air Maison is a celebrated name in the beauty industry, known for inclusivity and high standards of luxury.
A Visionary Leader
Peter’s career is defined by an unwavering commitment to innovation and a profound desire to open opportunities for underserved communities. At his core, he is a problem solver—a visionary driven by a strong moral compass. His work at IBM and Cisco in the early 2000s, where he played a key role in the development of the Internet, laid the foundation for the affordable and safer online world we enjoy today.
Wealth
Despite the fact that his companies are all privately-held, as of January 2025, Peter is estimated to have a net worth of about $14.87 billion.
Legacy and Impact
Peter Alfred-Adekeye’s entrepreneurial journey is not just a story of personal success but also a testament to his relentless drive to create positive societal change. Through his ventures, he has advanced technological innovation, expanded opportunities for emerging markets, and created a lasting impact on the global digital landscape. Peter’s work continues to inspire countless individuals, as he remains committed to shaping the future of technology, commerce, and human progress for the betterment of all