Sweden’s Norrsken commits €300M to support European startups using AI for global good

Stockholm-based Norrsken Foundation, a non-profit foundation, has announced it will commit €300M to invest in European startups using “AI for good.”

The funding is drawn from the collective liquidity pool of Norrsken VC, Accelerator, and Launcher.

The capital will be used toward companies leveraging AI to address urgent global challenges across climate, health, food systems, education, and societal infrastructure.

Norrsken Partners’ open letter

Norrsken’s announcement comes amid a global AI investment surge.

In 2024, AI startups raised over $110B, accounting for nearly one-third of global VC funding.

But most of this capital is chasing the same old playbook of productivity growth and convenience. Meanwhile, the real opportunity is sitting wide open: using AI to solve the world’s most urgent challenges.

The €300M pledge reflects Norrsken’s belief that AI is not just a tool for convenience or productivity, but a transformative force capable of fixing broken systems and unlocking real-world impact.

“In an open letter, undersigned by all funds (which you can read in full here), the Norrsken Partners say,s “The investors at Norrsken’s funds have lived through multiple waves of technological revolutions. From the internet boom to the app era, the rise of SaaS, climate tech, and now AI. And one pattern always holds: we overestimate the short-term hype but underestimate the long-term impact.”

“Right now, we’re in a full-blown AI gold rush. But if history repeats itself, 80 per cent of today’s AI startups will disappear. The other 20% are the ones solving real problems. Not building incremental tools, but using AI to fix broken systems, meet fundamental needs, and reshape industries with deep, lasting demand,” continues the company.

“AI has placed godlike power at our fingertips. The question is what we choose to do with it. The world doesn’t need another sales agent. We need bigger prompts,” adds the company.

Follows the criteria linked to the  UNSDGs

The funds have strict criteria, linked to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that assess impact and sustainability across the entire investment process, from deal screening and due diligence to deal structuring and exit.

“The Industrial Revolution brought explosive economic growth, but it also laid the foundation for the environmental crises we face today. We can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. Let’s not move fast and break things this time. Let’s move fast and fix things,” concludes the company. 

Norrsken Foundation: Solving the world’s greatest challenges

Founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, Norrsken Foundation aims to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

It has created a global impact ecosystem where founders can find the knowledge, capital, and network they need to make saving the world their business.

The foundation runs Norrsken House in Sweden and Norrsken House in Kigali, East Africa’s largest hub for startups. 

Norrsken incubated Norrsken VC, a $130M venture capital fund that invests in startups solving the world’s biggest problems.