EU-Startups Podcast | Episode 138: Rocío Alcocer Magirena, Managing Director of Norrsken Barcelona

Oct 2, 2025 - 22:00

This week on the EU-Startups Podcast, we sit down with Rocío Alcocer Magirena, Managing Director of Norrsken Barcelona, one of Europe’s largest hubs for tech and impact startups.

Founded in Sweden in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, Norrsken is expanding across the continent with a mission to support entrepreneurs tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. The Barcelona hub opened in 2022 in a renovated historic building and has quickly become a focal point for founders, investors, and changemakers in Southern Europe.

In this episode, Rocío shares how Norrsken is building what it calls “infrastructure for hope”, combining community, capital, and space to enable impact-driven innovation. We also dive into the newly released Impact/100 2025 list, where AI companies lead the ranking of future impact unicorns, and explore why Spain’s startup economy is surging with €3.8 billion raised last year. Rocío discusses the momentum she sees in healthcare, biotech, biodiversity, and home care, while also outlining what Barcelona needs next to compete globally: more talent and more patient capital.

Video version of episode 138:

Key Takeaways:

AI is shaping the next wave of impact unicorns, solving real problems rather than hyping demos.
Spain’s startup ecosystem is breaking out, with €3.8 billion and rising, attracting global attention.
Impact thrives when capital meets purpose, as patient, aligned money solves hard problems.
People move markets, and founder stamina beats paperwork.
Community is the multiplier; the best hubs are designed, not accidental.

The post EU-Startups Podcast | Episode 138: Rocío Alcocer Magirena, Managing Director of Norrsken Barcelona appeared first on EU-Startups.