Nikolas Ioannou
Hyper (acquired by Amex)Co-Founder
Spira (acquired by Galileo)Co-Founder
About
Nikolas Ioannou co-founded Hyper with Marc Baghadjian in 2022. Their product, Hypercard, is a hybrid personal and corporate card on the Amex network that employers hand out to staff, with AI agents that categorize and file expenses automatically. American Express agreed to buy the company in April 2026, and he has been at Amex since May. He left school at fifteen for early university admission, and at eighteen he sold his first startup, Spira, to Galileo Health.
In the news
US-based Nikolas Ioannou on Hyper’s acquisition by Amex, the future of AI and his Cypriot roots (opens in a new tab)Cyprus Business Now · May 18, 2026
30 Under 30 in Finance, 2024: Hypercard (opens in a new tab)Forbes · Nov 28, 2023
Seattle teen entrepreneurs sell their health-tech startup and take a break from college (opens in a new tab)GeekWire · May 11, 2021
Notable experience
American Express (opens in a new tab)
Software
May 2026 – Present
Software
May 2021 – May 2022
Spira
Acquired by Galileo
Co-Founder
May 2019 – May 2021
