E570 | EUVC Summit 2025 | Hampus Jakobsson, Pale Blue Dot: Impact Leader of the Year

0:00Venture isn't just about returns, it's about creating a better world. The best investors don't just back great companies, they create lasting impact. They prove that financial success and meaningful change can go hand in hand. This award honors the firms setting a new standard, where stellar financial performance meets impact at scale, where governance, fairness, and diversity aren't afterthoughts, but essential pillars of sustainable success. These are the investors shaping the future, not just of venture, but of society. The ones proving that purpose and profit aren't opposing forces, but a winning strategy.

0:41Ascension, ECAVC, PaleBlueDot, Norskin. They're moving the needle, redefining what venture can be. But tonight, only one will take the title. So in a time when some of the terms like impact and sustainability and some of the acronyms we've just heard about are being diluted and devalued or confused and conflated. This award is about action, regardless of what you call it. What we're looking for here in the Impact Leader of the Year is a firm that's putting their money where their values are and is backing companies that are making the world a better place. The judges here looked at three key things.

1:18The first of those was around intentionality, so a strategy that's clear and credible to back companies that make a real difference. The second was execution, having actually done that in practice, those companies delivering impact and financial return together. And the third thing is around influence, inspiring others, and sharing ecosystem knowledge with others. So what we're looking for here is a firm that is standing in Europe and sharing a vision with the world that inspires moral leadership as much as economic leadership, charting a path for others to follow. Before we announce the award, I'd like to welcome Adrian from Google Cloud to say a few words.

1:57Thank you so much, Douglas. Good afternoon, everybody. I would argue, and I think I was here earlier when Chris was saying the award he was talking about was the most important. I would counter and say this is the most important award of the evening. As Douglas said, my name is Adrian Poole. I have the honor of working at Google Cloud, looking after our startup and scale-up business. What's our mission? Not surprisingly, it's to help startup and scale-ups and the wider ecosystem be successful. How do we do that? We bring the best technology to bear, we bring resources, expertise, and also some credit programs.

2:30And more recently, we've just announced an AI futures fund, which will invest alongside VCs occasionally. Now, with this veritable audience, I would also just mention we have a dedicated VC team. Oksana, I think, is in the room over here. Hello, Oksana. Oksana's role, along with Arabella Reeves, who works with her, is to help you as VCs where you have high potential early stage firms and you're looking to get access to Google resources. She will help be that conduit to accelerate that for you. Okay, enough of the background. Back onto the award. So Google Cloud, our perspective on innovation, it's more than just the next widget or the next feature.

3:11What we think about and what Google thinks about more broadly is actually who is trying to solve some of the world's most pressing challenges. And what does that require? It requires clarity, and it also requires courage. And as a global technology partner, one of the things we've noticed and what we offer is the ability to bring the best technology. Some of you have heard of Gemini 2.5 Pro. Last time I mentioned that, Gemini 2.5. Because of its ability to accelerate and actually enable startups to get to market and develop their products and services much more quickly. And I think that's why we're super proud to be sponsoring this award because the impact leader of the award, because if you're going to build a better future, you need to back those who are building with purpose.

4:05And with that, I'll hand back to Douglas. Thank you. Thank you. And before I announce the firm that is the winner of this award, I'm just going to say a little bit about why this firm has won. So the winner of the award this year has got a clear strategy around how they're delivering impact and financial return together. It's executed on that from a disciplined fund size, backed some really interesting companies, can demonstrate the outcomes they're delivering, and crucially, the commercial traction as well. And what they've done for the ecosystem is put together this incredible space that brings together VCs and LPs from across the world, coming together to talk about some of the key themes in this area.

4:40and we genuinely didn't know this when we when we set the agenda we decided the winners after setting the agenda but I would like you to welcome back to the stage Hampus Jakobsen of Pale Blue Dot this year's winner of the impact leader of the year

5:03I think you've heard me talk about stuff. I think the only thing I could say, because somebody noted, and some smart people noted that my T-shirt is not the Mark Zuckerberg T-shirt saying that we need emperors. It's the one that says we need fewer emperors. So please note that I'm not pro-emperors. Before you go, I just want to give a massive shout out to the partners who made the EUVC Summit and awards possible. So please do not tune out. We're partnered with these firms because they're great people with offerings that we know from our friends in the ecosystem are truly world class. First up, I want to give a big thanks to HSBC Innovation Banking.

5:41They helped us incept the awards in the very beginning. And truly, they are the leading bank for anyone in European in venture. There's a reason why everyone knows them. Google Cloud, they were our venue hosted the summit. What a team, what a big effort they put on to help us. We're hugely grateful. Make sure to reach out to Arabella or Oksana at the Google Cloud team to hear how they can help you as well as your portfolio. Massive credits goes to them. Ace Alternatives, we have so many friends in the Berlin ecosystem partnered with these guys. Just the best fund ops team around. And as with any good restaurant where the locals are is also where you get the best service.

6:21And now they're expanding across Europe, so they're definitely someone to talk to. Hainspoon, they're longtime partners of ours in both our own legal work. They're great supporters of us here at EUEC, and I definitely think that they are one of the go-to legal teams to have in your corner. CW Communications, our dear friends who helped us secure CNBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and many more for this summer. It's a joy working with Dan and Kathy and the team. Fundcraft, Digital Native, Full Suite, Lux Headquarter, and a great partner as you grow your firm out of Luxembourg. Definitely a fund admin to consider in your stack.

6:56I can only say that the team are incredible to work with. I'm very thankful that I've gotten to know them. I think they're one of the up and coming fund admins that you want to be thinking about. Portfolio IQ by Synaptic. You may know them for the Discover tool, which is branded on a synaptic, but Portfolio IQ is absolutely a product you should know because there's no one that understands intelligence better than this team. And finally, Goodwin. They are a truly world-class legal partner you can trust. They're hands-on, business-oriented, and expert in everything and anything transatlantic. So those were our partners for the summit and awards.

7:33I know this might have been a bit long and boring, but really, if you have these guys on your side, I don't think your firm could be in any better hands. And also, they're helping us do what we're doing every day for you.