Joel Larsson

General Partner & Co-Founder at pale-blue-dot

Reviewed Updated Apr 3, 2026

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Joel Larsson is a GP and co-founder of Pale Blue Dot, a ~EUR 180M seed-stage climate tech fund based in Malmo, Sweden. A former technical lead at Axis Communications and startup founder, he co-leads a portfolio of 27+ climate startups across Europe, with EV/mobility (19%), climate data/analytics (19%), and food/agriculture (15%) as top sectors. The firm writes EUR 200K-2M checks and targets 10% ownership.

Location Malmö, Sweden
Check Size €200K-€2M
Last Verified Investment Solarock (Series A) — Jul 3, 2025
Social @tilljoel LinkedIn
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed
Sector Focus
climate-tech clean-energy ev-charging agtech sustainability circular-economy fintech biodiversity geospatial logistics carbon-removal deeptech

Background

Joel Larsson is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Pale Blue Dot, a seed-stage climate tech venture capital firm based in Malmö, Sweden 12. He holds a Master’s degree in Information and Communication Technology from Lund University (2002-2006), with technical skills in Ruby, Python, Ruby on Rails, Linux, and software development 34. Some sources describe his degree as an MSc in environmental engineering 56.

Before entering venture capital, Larsson worked as a Technical Lead for New Video Products at Axis Communications and as a Growth & Data Scientist at Brisk.io 3. He co-founded several startups including Popdevelop, Settlebox, Weskins, and Popgiro 3. He also founded Fast Track Malmö, a startup accelerator launched in 2015 in collaboration with ALMI Invest, Minc, Malmö Startups, and Invest in Skåne 7. The accelerator invested 200,000 SEK (approximately €21,000) in each cohort company and ran five-month programs 7.

Larsson co-founded Pale Blue Dot in 2020 alongside Hampus Jakobsson (formerly co-founder of The Astonishing Tribe, sold to BlackBerry, and venture partner at BlueYard Capital) and Heidi Lindvall (former startup founder with a background in human rights and former head of the accelerator and investment team at Fast Track Malmö) 289. Jakobsson had previously angel-invested in one of Larsson’s companies, which is how the two met 9. The firm launched with a first close of €53 million in June 2020, eventually closing Fund I at €87 million, and later raised Fund II at €93 million — approximately €180 million in total AUM 81011.

Larsson has spoken at NORDEEP (Nordic Deep Tech Business Summit) in 2022 and at Latitude 59 in 2022 43.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Larsson and Pale Blue Dot say publicly about their investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Pale Blue Dot describes itself as backing “the most exciting climate tech startups across Europe and the US” at the pre-seed and seed stage 1. The firm organizes investments under three pillars: Optimize (decarbonizing existing systems), Adapt (climate resilience technologies), and Pioneer (breakthrough sustainability innovations) 1213.

Larsson has stated: “The startups we look for are ones that scalably contribute to climate, which most of the time means that they are powered by the same forces as many internet companies are: software, data, and network effects” 2. He has also stated that he “believe[s] we need both degrowth ideas and venture-scale technical solutions to solve the climate crisis” 56.

Larsson and his co-founders have stated that they view climate not as a sector but as a worldview and “aperture” through which to evaluate investments 14. In 2025, the co-founders collectively stated: “Climate as a concept has become politicised, limiting and narrow” and “The word climate has become synonymous with a very narrow set of problems,” explaining their decision to move away from the “climate-only” label 13. They argued that climate pressures will necessitate redesigning every industrial process, representing “the largest macro-shift for both humanity and venture capital” 13.

The firm prefers to lead rounds, writing checks between €500K and €2M, targeting approximately 10% ownership at seed stage 814. The firm explicitly rejects consumer carbon accounting apps, indirect climate solutions, and companies enabling carbon offsets without systemic change 8. They also decline capital from oil-dependent nations or companies 8.

On the Atlas.co investment, Larsson stated: “Atlas.co is a significant step toward making spatial data accessible for essential causes like climate action. We’re excited to support a team that views maps not only as data tools but also as catalysts for environmental and social change” 15.

Collectively with his co-founders, Larsson stated for 2025: “Producing or moving things is an area of huge inefficiency in Europe, due to high labour and energy costs. These industries are also big employers, so they are at the heart of the bipartisan political agenda. We believe many European industries will modernise, digitalise and become more efficient — both to reduce dependence on external powers and to improve their bottom lines” 16.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 27 verified investments by Pale Blue Dot (see Portfolio below), the following patterns emerge. Note: individual deal attribution to specific GPs is not publicly available for most investments — this analysis reflects the firm’s collective portfolio, which Larsson co-leads. The investment team meets founders collectively: any startup offered a meeting with the GPs meets with all three of them 8.

Stage distribution: Predominantly seed-stage. Of 27 verified investments: approximately 20 at Seed (74%), 4 at Pre-Seed (15%), and 3 at Series A (11%). The Series A investments (Monta, Paebbl, Solarock) are follow-on rounds from earlier seed investments, consistent with the firm’s stated 50% follow-on reserve 8.

Sector breakdown (based on 27 verified investments): - EV/mobility/transport: 5 of 27 (19%) — Monta, Pelikan Mobility, PIONIX, JaroFleet, Ember - Climate data/analytics/geospatial: 5 of 27 (19%) — Overstory, Climate X, Atlas.co, Amini, Nala Earth - Food/agriculture: 4 of 27 (15%) — Phytoform Labs, Improvin’, AgroLeague, Hier Foods - Carbon/materials/circular economy: 4 of 27 (15%) — Paebbl, Brineworks, CirPlus, CBAMBOO - Energy: 3 of 27 (11%) — Solarock, Podero, VARM - Supply chain/logistics: 2 of 27 (7%) — HIVED, Infyos - Sustainable finance/fintech: 2 of 27 (7%) — Green-Got, Patch - Other: 2 of 27 (7%) — ClimateAligned, Pivotal

Geographic focus: Heavily European. Portfolio companies span: UK (HIVED, Climate X, Infyos, Phytoform Labs), Germany (VARM, PIONIX, Nala Earth, CirPlus), France (Green-Got, Pelikan Mobility, Solarock), Netherlands (Overstory, Brineworks, Paebbl), Sweden (Improvin’), Denmark (Monta), Norway (Atlas.co), and Kenya (Amini). One US investment confirmed (Patch, San Francisco) 17. The firm is based in Malmö but invests across Europe and selectively in the US 10.

Check size: €200K-€2M at seed, with a sweet spot around €1M 818. Average seed round size across portfolio is approximately $3.56M, suggesting Pale Blue Dot typically co-invests rather than funding entire rounds solo 19.

Founder profile patterns: All three GPs are former founders themselves, and the firm emphasizes founder empathy and backing people they view as “leaders of tomorrow” 14. The firm has backed diverse founding teams — they reported that in 2024, their portfolio generated $342 million in wealth creation for BIPOC and women founders 20. The portfolio shows a strong pattern of backing technical founders solving infrastructure-level climate problems rather than consumer-facing applications.

Co-investor patterns: Frequent co-investors include Seedcamp (Pelikan Mobility), Frst (Pelikan Mobility), byFounders (Monta), Emerge (VARM), Powerhouse Ventures (Overstory), Andreessen Horowitz (Patch), and Dynamo Ventures (Improvin’). The LP base includes Atomico, Saminvest (Swedish government-backed), Ramsbury Invest (H&M family office), Prima Materia (Daniel Ek’s vehicle), and founders from Contentful, Supercell, Zendesk, Wise, and Delivery Hero 810.

Notable patterns not mentioned in stated thesis: The portfolio reveals a significant tilt toward B2B enterprise and infrastructure plays rather than consumer products. Climate data and analytics companies represent nearly a fifth of verified investments — a subsector not prominently featured in public messaging. Despite stating an openness to US deals, the portfolio is overwhelmingly European with only one confirmed US investment. The “Pioneer” pillar (breakthrough innovations) appears underrepresented relative to “Optimize” (decarbonization of existing systems), which dominates the portfolio. The firm’s emphasis on planetary boundaries (beyond just carbon) in their Substack writing is reflected in investments like Nala Earth (biodiversity) and Overstory (vegetation), but the majority of the portfolio remains carbon-focused.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Sector Source
Overstory Seed 2020 Vegetation intelligence / satellite AI 21
Climate X Pre-Seed 2021 Climate risk analytics 22
Monta Seed 2021 EV charging platform 23
HIVED Pre-Seed 2021 Zero-emission parcel logistics 24
Phytoform Labs Seed 2021 Gene-edited climate-resistant crops 25
Patch Seed 2021 Carbon removal API marketplace 17
Cirplus Seed ~2021 Recycled plastics marketplace 12
Hier Foods Seed ~2020 Regional food supply chain 8
Improvin’ Seed 2023 Agri-food emissions platform 26
Infyos Seed ~2022 Battery supply chain 12
Green-Got Seed 2023 Climate-conscious neobank 27
Amini Pre-Seed 2023 Environmental data / Africa 28
Ember Seed ~2022 Electric bus platform 12
Pivotal Seed ~2022 Biodiversity data 12
ClimateAligned Seed ~2023 Climate finance 29
Nala Earth Pre-Seed 2023 Biodiversity measurement 30
Pelikan Mobility Seed 2024 Commercial fleet EV leasing 31
Atlas.co Pre-Seed 2024 Collaborative mapping / GIS 15
VARM Seed 2024 Building insulation 32
Brineworks Seed 2024 Ocean CO2 extraction / hydrogen 33
Paebbl Series A 2024 Carbon mineralization / building materials 34
PIONIX Seed ~2021 Open-source EV charging software 12
Podero Seed ~2024 Energy 12
JaroFleet Seed ~2023 Fleet management 12
AgroLeague Seed ~2023 Agriculture tech 35
Solarock Series A 2025 Decentralized solar franchise 36
Monta Series A 2023 EV charging platform (follow-on) 37

This table represents 27 unique companies (28 rows including one follow-on) of approximately 37-48 total investments cited by aggregator sources 1935. Additional confirmed portfolio companies — Cosmic Aerospace, Hack Your Closet, Maiven, Opna, SnoFox Sciences, Sphere, VEAT, Way, CBAMBOO, BettaF!sh, Madefrom — could not be independently verified with investment dates 35. Years marked with ~ are approximate, based on founding year or aggregator data where specific investment dates could not be independently confirmed.

In Their Own Words

“The startups we look for are ones that scalably contribute to climate, which most of the time means that they are powered by the same forces as many internet companies are: software, data, and network effects.” — Joel Larsson, founding partner, TechCrunch, June 2020 2

“Atlas.co is a significant step toward making spatial data accessible for essential causes like climate action. We’re excited to support a team that views maps not only as data tools but also as catalysts for environmental and social change.” — Joel Larsson, Startups Magazine, November 2024 15

“By only focusing on tons of carbon, we believe you lose out on many other things that might improve our climate and overall planetary health.” — Joel Larsson and Lindsey Higgins, Pale Blue Dot Substack, 2022 38

“Producing or moving things is an area of huge inefficiency in Europe, due to high labour and energy costs. These industries are also big employers, so they are at the heart of the bipartisan political agenda. We believe many European industries will modernise, digitalise and become more efficient — both to reduce dependence on external powers and to improve their bottom lines.” — Pale Blue Dot GPs (Joel Larsson, Heidi Lindvall, Hampus Jakobsson), Sifted, January 2025 16

“Climate as a concept has become politicised, limiting and narrow.” — Pale Blue Dot founders (including Joel Larsson), Impact Loop, 2025 13

“Venture capital and technology alone are not the answers, but if used well, they can play an important role.” — Pale Blue Dot founders (including Joel Larsson), Impact Loop, 2025 13

“Receiving interest and recognition from the industry is good, but the fact that amazing founders keep picking us to be their partners on their journeys is the biggest vote of confidence.” — Pale Blue Dot (attributed collectively to GPs), TechCrunch, May 2023 10

On the firm’s decision-making process, the partners use a voting system: -1 (hell no), 0 (no), 1 (yes), 2 (hell yes). An investment requires one “hell yes” and zero “hell no” votes, emphasizing individual GP conviction over consensus 14.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials specifically about Joel Larsson were found after dedicated searching across Twitter/X, podcast transcripts, blog posts, and press coverage. One portfolio company CEO (unattributed by name) stated in connection with Pale Blue Dot’s investment: “We are thrilled to have experienced investors on board who bring valuable expertise and strategic guidance, supporting our mission to drive impactful solutions in the fields of nature and biodiversity” 20. This appears to be from Pale Blue Dot’s own communications and should be treated as firm marketing rather than an independent testimonial.

The firm holds annual founder offsites (described as kayaking in a Swedish archipelago), and existing portfolio founders reportedly recognize shared qualities among potential investments — but these observations come from the firm’s own communications, not independent founder accounts 14.

Connections

  • Co-Founder, Pale Blue Dot — alongside Hampus Jakobsson (former co-founder of The Astonishing Tribe, sold to BlackBerry; former Venture Partner at BlueYard Capital) and Heidi Lindvall (former startup founder, human rights background) 289
  • Founder, Fast Track Malmö (2015-2020) — startup accelerator in Malmö, Sweden, with partners ALMI Invest, Minc, Malmö Startups, and Invest in Skåne 7
  • Former Technical Lead, Axis Communications — New Video Products division 3
  • Speaker, NORDEEP (Nordic Deep Tech Business Summit, 2022) 4
  • Speaker, Latitude 59 (2022) 3
  • LP relationships — Pale Blue Dot’s investors include Prima Materia (Daniel Ek/Spotify), Atomico, Ramsbury Invest (H&M family office), Saminvest (Swedish government-backed VC), and founders from Contentful, Supercell, Zendesk, Wise, and Delivery Hero 810

Sources

  1. Pale Blue Dot website, “Portfolio,” accessed April 2026. https://paleblue.vc/portfolio↩↩

  2. TechCrunch, “Pale Blue Dot is a new early-stage fund backing ‘climate-focused’ startups in Europe,” June 16, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/16/pale-blue-dot/↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Eventible, “Joel Larsson Speaking Profile,” accessed April 2026. https://www.eventible.com/speakers/profile/joel-larsson-89↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. NORDEEP, “Joel Larsson — Nordic Deep Tech Business Summit,” accessed April 2026. https://nordeep.com/speaker/joel-larsson/↩↩↩

  5. VCSheet, “Joel Larsson (Pale Blue Dot),” accessed April 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/joel-larsson↩↩

  6. Evalyze.ai, “Joel Larsson Investor Profile,” accessed April 2026. https://www.evalyze.ai/investors/joel-larsson↩↩

  7. The Local Sweden, “Women take over at Malmö startup accelerator,” February 2019. https://www.thelocal.se/20190219/women-take-over-at-malmo-startup-accelerator/↩↩↩

  8. Sifted, “Pooping carbon: Pale Blue Dot closes €87m climate tech fund,” April 2021. https://sifted.eu/articles/pale-blue-dot-vc-87m-fund↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  9. TechCrunch, “Pale Blue Dot aims to be Europe’s premier early-stage climate investor and has $100 million to prove it,” April 14, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/14/pale-blue-dot-aims-to-be-europes-premier-early-stage-climate-investor-and-has-100-million-to-prove-it/↩↩↩

  10. TechCrunch, “Pale Blue Dot continues investing in its climate vision, with a second $100M fund,” May 12, 2023. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/12/pale-blue-dot-continues-investing-in-its-climate-vision-with-a-second-100m-fund/↩↩↩↩↩

  11. Tech.eu, “Pale blue dot ups the ante, closes second fund at €93 million,” May 11, 2023. https://tech.eu/2023/05/11/pale-blue-dot-ups-the-ante-closes-second-fund-at-eur93-million/↩

  12. F4 Fund, “Pale Blue Dot — Investment Thesis & Preferences,” accessed April 2026. https://f4.fund/firms/pale-blue-dot↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  13. Impact Loop, “Climate VC Pale Blue Dot drops ‘climate’ label: ‘The term has become too narrow,’” 2025. https://www.impactloop.com/artikel/climate-vc-pale-blue-dot-drops-climate-label-the-term-has-become-too-narrow↩↩↩↩↩

  14. MCJ Collective, “MCJ Capital Series: Hampus Jakobsson, Pale Blue Dot,” accessed April 2026. https://mcj.vc/inevitable-podcast/hampus-jakobsson↩↩↩↩↩

  15. Startups Magazine, “Atlas.co lands $2M pre-seed to rival 50-year-old mapping giant Esri,” November 2024. https://startupsmagazine.co.uk/article-atlasco-lands-2m-pre-seed-rival-50-year-old-mapping-giant-esri↩↩↩

  16. Sifted, “Climate tech in 2025: more bankruptcies and less green premium,” January 2025. https://sifted.eu/articles/climate-tech-2025-predictions↩↩

  17. FinSMES, “Patch Raises $4.5M in Seed Funding,” February 2021. https://www.finsmes.com/2021/02/patch-raises-4-5m-in-seed-funding.html↩↩

  18. Signal by NFX, Joel Larsson investor profile, accessed April 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/joel-larsson↩

  19. Tracxn, “Pale Blue Dot — 2025 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends,” accessed April 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/pale-blue-dot/__zwkKxpN2047tvi3TcDxR8v8Gos3NReihwg6lCUDqAks↩↩

  20. Pale Blue Dot, “About Us,” accessed April 2026. https://paleblue.vc/about-us↩↩

  21. Nordic 9, “Overstory secured $1.7 million in a seed round led by climate fund Pale Blue Dot,” accessed April 2026. https://nordic9.com/news/overstory-secured-17-million-in-a-seed-round-led-by-climate-fund-pale-blue-dot-and-joined-by-powerhouse-ventures-techstars-and-futuristic-vc/↩

  22. Nordic 9, “Climate X secures £1.1 million in a preseed round backed by Pale Blue Dot,” accessed April 2026. https://nordic9.com/news/climate-x-secures-11-million-in-a-preseed-round-backed-by-pale-blue-dot/↩

  23. Nordic 9, “Monta raised a capital round backed by byFounders and &grow ventures,” accessed April 2026. https://nordic9.com/news/monta-biosciences-raised-more-capital/↩

  24. Tech.eu, “Hived is bringing a ‘green’ buzz to parcel delivery in the UK as it raises £10 million,” April 2023. https://tech.eu/2023/04/27/hived-is-bringing-a-green-buzz-to-parcel-delivery-in-the-uk-as-it-raises-10-million/↩

  25. TechCrunch, “Phytoform plants $5.7M into climate-resistant crop technology,” December 16, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/16/phytoform-climate-crop-technology/↩

  26. Improvin’ press release, “Improvin’ secures €3.5 Million seed investment,” May 2023. https://improvin.com/news/improvin-secures-35-million-seed-investment-to-drive-emission-reductions-and-sustainability-in-the-agri-food-industry↩

  27. TechCrunch, “Green-Got is a neobank for climate-conscious customers,” May 4, 2023. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/04/green-got-is-a-neobank-for-climate-conscious-customers/↩

  28. TechCrunch, “Pale Blue Dot backs Amini, an African climate tech startup solving environmental data scarcity,” May 17, 2023. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/17/pale-blue-dot-backs-amini-an-african-climate-tech-startup-solving-environmental-data-scarcity/↩

  29. Seedtable, “Pale Blue Dot Investor Information,” accessed April 2026. https://www.seedtable.com/investors/pale-blue-dot↩

  30. SPEEDA Edge, “Nala Earth raises EUR 1.7 million in pre-seed funding,” 2023. https://sp-edge.com/updates/2288↩

  31. Tech.eu, “Pelikan Mobility raises €4M seed funding for commercial fleet electrification,” March 21, 2024. https://tech.eu/2024/03/21/pelikan-mobility-raises-eur4m-seed-funding-for-commercial-fleet-electrification/↩

  32. TechFundingNews, “Berlin’s eco-friendly startup VARM bags €5.7M to insulate Europe’s homes,” July 2024. https://techfundingnews.com/varm-secures-e5-7m-for-insulation-solutions-that-helps-save-energy-costs/↩

  33. Tech.eu, “Brineworks secures $2.2M for CO2 ocean extraction and low-cost green hydrogen production,” September 12, 2024. https://tech.eu/2024/09/12/brineworks-secures-2-2m-for-co2-ocean-extraction-and-low-cost-green-hydrogen-production/↩

  34. ESG Today, “Climate Tech Startup Paebbl Raises $25 Million to Turn Captured CO2 into Building Materials,” October 2024. https://www.esgtoday.com/climate-tech-startup-paebbl-raises-25-million-to-turn-captured-co2-into-building-materials/↩

  35. Venture Capital Archive, Pale Blue Dot portfolio page, accessed April 2026. https://venturecapitalarchive.com/venture-funds/pale-blue-dot-paleblue-vc↩↩↩

  36. Tech.eu, “Solarock raises €7M to expand decentralised solar model across France,” July 3, 2025. https://tech.eu/2025/07/03/solarock-raises-eur7m-to-expand-decentralised-solar-model-across-france/↩

  37. Mercom Capital Group, “EV Charging Platform Monta Secures $30 Million in Series A+ Funding,” 2023. https://mercomcapital.com/monta-secures-30-million-in-series-a-funding/↩

  38. Pale Blue Dot Substack, “Saving the planet means more than reducing carbon emissions,” 2022. https://palebluedotvc.substack.com/p/saving-the-planet-means-more-than↩

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