Norrsken

Textile waste: 90 million tons. Every. Single. Year. We know, this isn’t the upbeat “New Year, New Me” mantra you were hoping for. But here’s the thing: Smartex.ai doesn’t do polite small talk. They harness AI to spot textile defects before a single flawed meter leaves the factory, cutting waste by up to double-digits and saving serious tons of fabric from the trash pile. No sugarcoating, no hollow pledge, just the ruthless efficiency our planet demands right now. Co-founders CEO Gilberto Loureiro and CTO António Rocha aren’t armchair innovators. Gilberto earned his stripes on the factory floor, António brings the technical muscle, and together they prove that changing an industry isn’t about fancy slides, it's about authentic insight and real results. Investors like Lightspeed saw the difference. We see it too. As we step into 2025, it’s time to demand more from every link in our supply chains. Dig into the Norrsken Impact/100 list and meet the role models who are delivering tangible, no-nonsense fixes to our broken systems - and maybe spark your own big move this year. We believe in you! norrsken.org/impact100

Great news for Swedish plant-based food production! Norrsken House Stockholm member Proteinish has just secured a 3.5M SEK Pre-Seed Round!   Their innovative process transforms locally grown Swedish raw materials into sustainable, high-quality plant-based products. By keeping the supply chain local, they’re not just offering better food alternatives, they’re strengthening food security and reducing environmental impact at every step. Next up: Building Sweden's first facility for large-scale production of textured plant proteins. 🌱 Shoutout to co-founders Isabelle Falck and Peter Bolinder for driving the shift toward a more resilient food system. Keep the good news coming! Press release in comments.

Africa’s 9th unicorn has landed! 🎉 Financial inclusion and reduced inequalities aren’t just ideas anymore – they’re becoming reality, right now. Norrsken22 portfolio company TymeBank, one of the fastest growing digital banking groups globally, has secured $250M at a $1.5B valuation, led by Nubank. By making first-class banking products affordable and accessible – reaching some of the world’s most vulnerable and remote communities – TymeBank is driving progress and building a new, more inclusive, economy. To the TymeBank team: huge congratulations on this epic milestone. The future of banking is here, and it’s for everyone. 🚀 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dmqYmvYv

Our biggest morning rave crowd ever - power moves, dance grooves, and everything in between. Probably the best wakeup in the world? No doubt. 06:30 has never looked this good - and that's all thanks to you!! 🪩

We’re thrilled to share that Billboxx has secured $1.6M in pre-seed funding!! The Billboxx team has seen, first hand, what happens when cash flow problems stand in the way of a thriving business. They know that African SMEs need better solutions, and this Norrsken Accelerator 2023 alumni set out to build them. By automating billing and invoicing, unlocking SME financial histories, and ensuring timely payments, Billboxx is helping businesses become healthier and more resilient. This means they can access the financial solutions they need to grow. The impact? Fewer business failures, more thriving SMEs, and a brighter economic future across Africa. Big moves deserve even bigger cheers - congratulations to co-founders Justus Obaoye, Abdulazeez Ogunjobi, and the entire Billboxx team! 🚀 Keep the good news coming! Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs never gets old.

To all fellow chocolate lovers out there. We’re excited to announce that double-time Impact/100 company Planet A Foods has raised $30M! 🎉 Unless, you’re okay living in a world without chocolate? It’s easy to assume the supply of chocolate was thought after, not just sought after. However, with global demand outpacing a fragile and ethically problematic supply chain - often linked to rainforest deforestation and forced labour - the endangered cocoa bean’s future is at risk in a rapidly warming world. That’s where Dr. Sara Marquart and Dr. Maximilian Marquart, the sibling founders of Planet A Foods, come in - they’re creating cocoa-free chocolate with a carbon footprint that’s up to 80% lower than conventional chocolate, and with zero human suffering. That’s like.. 500 million tons of CO2 that could be avoided annually through switching bulk chocolate production away from cocoa beans to its more sustainable method. AND it tastes like the real thing (yes, we’d love some ChoViva samples if you’re reading this Sara and Max). Congrats Maximilian and Sara - can’t wait to see where this goes next. Want to learn more? Listen to this Norrsken x Spotify How We Fix This podcast episode dedicated to Planet A Foods, narrated by Alexander Skarsgard: https://lnkd.in/gFZC5GZm For more details, read the full TechCrunch article: https://lnkd.in/gvZnr6zR

Last week's Impact Meetup was a true feast for thought. Gunhild Anker Stordalen and Line Gordon took us through the hard truths of planetary boundaries with clarity and urgency, showing how the future of food is tied to the future of, well… everything. And the innovators? Cinis Fertilizer, Proteinish, Agteria Biotech, and Nordic SeaFarm are serving up real solutions to the kind of problems that don’t wait. The metacrisis is pressing, but so are these founders, these industry leaders, and all of you who joined us. Here’s your well-earned standing ovation. 👏 Thank you for making it a night to remember. A special shoutout to EAT Foundation, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Eidra, and our House Partners, PwC Sweden and Altor Equity Partners, for co-creating and supporting the final Impact Meetup of 2024.

From a garage in Oakland to decarbonizing some of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries, Impact/100 2024 company Molten Industries is revolutionizing how we produce battery graphite and hydrogen - two critical inputs for the global clean energy transition. 💡 Impact/100 nomination partner, Fifty Years, spotted (and backed) co-founders Kevin Bush and Caleb Boyd early. How come? Because they’re not your ordinary founders - they literally melted steel to build their first prototype?! With relentless ingenuity they turned late nights and weekends into groundbreaking advancements in science and sustainability. Molten is tackling one of the toughest challenges in decarbonization: industrial chemical processes. By retiring key physics risks and advancing toward their first end-to-end factory, they’re setting a new standard for impact innovation. Go Kevin, Caleb, team Molten Industries, and go Fifty Years! 🎉 🌍 Explore the full Impact/100 list and its role models. Curated by 40+ of the world’s leading impact VCs. norrsken.org/impact100 #Impact100

Rise and shine - it’s time to dance through the winter blues. 🪩 The Norrsken Morning Rave returns December 13th, 06:30-08:30 at Norrsken House Stockholm. Tickets are very limited - it’s first come first served. Get yours here: https://lnkd.in/d4aW8Yvd

BIG NEWS! 🎉 We’re thrilled to welcome Rebecka Löthman Rydå as a General Partner at Norrsken Accelerator! 🚀 With 10 years of experience as an active VC investor, Rebecka brings a remarkable track record to the team, including playing a key role in raising one of the largest early-stage funds in the Nordics (€150M). Along the way, she has achieved top-tier exits and gained invaluable operational expertise as both a CFO and COO. Help us give Rebecka a warm welcome to the Norrsken family! 🙌 Alex Bakir, Ebba Forsberg, Inez Atmer, Johan Attby, Magali Roy Bentley