E582 | Alex Bakir, Norrsken Evolve: Resilience, Climate, and Building Europe’s Future

EUVC

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward.

Today we welcome Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve, the new €57M pre-seed fund spun out of the legendary Norrsken family of funds. Together with Johan Attby and Rebecka Löthman Rydå, Alex is doubling down on impact-driven founders building Europe’s resilient and sustainable future—with backing from EIF, Saminvest, SmartCap, and operators like Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi of Plural.

We dive into Alex’s journey - with family roots in Iraq and England to Cambridge, the World Bank, Climate Change Capital, and Planet Labs; his lessons from the clean-tech crash of 2008; why resilience is now the lens for Europe’s industrial strategy; and how Norrsken Evolve is rethinking fund construction with 80 portfolio companies, automated follow-ons, and a sprint model for founder collaboration.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 01:38 Alex’s path: Iraqi–English upbringing, Cambridge climate science, World Bank, first-wave cleantech VC

• 04:30 Lessons from the cleantech crash (’08): macro can kill even great theses

• 07:19 Why this time is different: realism, supply chains, energy security

• 10:31 Fundraising the hard way: €40M → €57M; satellites vs. raising a fund

• 12:36 Mistakes & pivots: from naive global to Europe-first resilience

• 15:50 LP profiling: local anchors + institutional validation (Saminvest, EIF)

• 19:00 The trough of despair & team completion with Rebecka Löthman Rydå

• 22:11 The “funky” model: 80 companies, €250K tickets, no boards, automated follow-ons

• 26:06 Sprint model: six-week in-person collaboration (not a school)

• 31:22 Investment focus: The carbon-free economy, the infrastructure of tomorrow, future of Europe

• 40:57 Founder fit: mission-driven, experienced builders with scars and purpose