This Danish Fund Just Closed $65M and Is Setting Up a Permanent Base in Amsterdam

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-15

A Danish pre-Seed fund that backs founders working on climate, health, and resilience just hit a major milestone. Norrsken Evolve has closed at $65 million, well above its original $40 million target. And here's the interesting part: they're making a permanent home in Amsterdam. ### A Fund That Overshot Its Goal When Norrsken Evolve first launched in August 2025, it aimed for $42 million. But investor demand was stronger than expected, and the fund ended up closing at $65 million. That's a 55% oversubscription, which tells you something about how much appetite there is for early-stage impact investing in Europe right now. The fund focuses on founders solving problems in three areas: climate, health, and resilience. Think of it as a bet on the kinds of companies that might not just be profitable, but genuinely necessary for the future. ### Why Amsterdam? Norrsken Evolve is formalizing its presence in the Dutch capital by setting up shop at Norrsken House Amsterdam, which opens September 1, 2026. At 38,750 square feet, it'll be the largest Norrsken House in Western Europe. "We have been backing Dutch founders for a while now," said Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve. "Formalising that commitment in Amsterdam makes sense. The Dutch pre-Seed ecosystem has real gaps, and we are here to back founders at the stage where most institutional capital still steps back." That last part is key. Most institutional investors tend to wait until a startup has proven itself. Norrsken Evolve is stepping in earlier, at the pre-Seed stage, where capital is hardest to find. ### Who's Behind the Fund? The fund got backing from some heavy hitters. The European Investment Fund (EIF), Saminvest, and SmartCap all came in as institutional investors. But the names that might catch your attention are the operators: Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi, co-founders of TransferWise (now Wise) and early Skype engineers, invested through their family office, Skaala. When you see people who've built billion-dollar companies putting their own money into a fund, it's a signal worth paying attention to. ### A Broader Trend in European Venture Norrsken Evolve's close is part of a bigger story. EU-Startups has tracked eight comparable or adjacent funds that represent about $1.35 billion in announced capital across climate, health, DeepTech, and resilience—including Norrsken Evolve. Some notable comparisons: - Climentum Capital, based in Copenhagen, reached a $63 million first close for its second climate fund - The Footprint Firm completed an $80 million final close for a vehicle targeting early-stage climate and DeepTech companies in Northern Europe - 2150 raised $221 million for its climate-focused Fund II - SlateVC hit a $139 million first close - Kurma Partners closed a $226 million BioTech fund - DTCP raised a $526 million defense and resilience vehicle These numbers show a clear pattern: specialist funds are attracting serious capital. ### What Norrsken Evolve Has Already Done in the Netherlands The fund has made two Dutch investments so far: - It was the first institutional money into New Dawn Bio, an Amsterdam-based BioTech company developing wood alternatives that grow without trees. Norrsken Evolve later introduced New Dawn Bio to Capital T—also a tenant at Norrsken House Amsterdam—which led a follow-on round. - It co-invested in Spiral Hydrogen, an Estonian-founded team building green hydrogen infrastructure at the Port of Rotterdam. A third Dutch investment is expected before the end of 2026. The fund estimates about 5% of its capital—roughly $3.2 million—will go to Dutch startups, targeting between five and eight investments. Initial checks are up to $525,000 per company. ### Why Proximity Matters Thijs van der Burgt, CEO of Norrsken House Amsterdam, put it well: "We purposely designed Norrsken Amsterdam as a hub where founders working on the most urgent problems of our time—energy, climate, health—sit alongside the investors backing them, every single day. That proximity is not merely incidental, but the whole point." Having Norrsken Evolve based in the same building means founders can walk downstairs and get pre-Seed capital or free advice from people who are genuinely invested in the same mission. That kind of access is rare in the startup world. ### The Bigger Picture Norrsken Evolve is part of the Norrsken ecosystem, which manages nearly $1 billion across five investment funds and operates Norrsken Houses in Stockholm, Barcelona, Brussels, Kigali, and now Amsterdam. The Amsterdam base is led by General Partner Alex Bakir, who has been living in the Netherlands since 2019, and investor Sjoerd Stevens, an Amsterdam native with 13 years of experience in professional equity trading. For founders in the Netherlands working on climate, health, or resilience, this fund could be a game-changer. It's early-stage capital from people who've been there before, and they're literally moving into your neighborhood.