Tag: Design

As an American born and raised in New York City, I’ve seen the power of US entrepreneurialism to change the world. The ambition, ingenuity, and relentless drive that have powered the country’s economy for generations have also been a global force for prosperity, stability, and innovation. Yet now the US is retreating into an aggressive and unpredictable form of unilateral bullying. I am deeply concerned — not just for America, but for the world.  For the past few years, I’ve watched these developments from Europe. I’ve settled with my family in the Netherlands, where I work as CEO of cultivated…

Private equity deals hit an all-time high in 2021, peaking at a total value of more than $1tn, with an average deal size exceeding $1bn for the first time. Founders were media darlings, valuations soared, and investors raced to get a piece of the action.   By 2023, many of those same companies — such as Klarna and Stripe — had lost billions in value. Klarna’s valuation plummeted by 85% from its 2021 peak of $45.6bn to $6.7bn in 2022. Stripe also fell dramatically, from $95bn in 2021 to $50bn in 2023.   Fast forward to today, and even more tech companies…This story continues

AI agents are now being embedded across core business functions globally. Soon, these agents could be scheduling our lives, making key decisions, and negotiating deals on our behalf. The prospect is exciting and ambitious, but it also begs the question: who’s actually supervising them? Over half (51%) of companies have deployed AI agents, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has targeted a billion agents by the end of the year. Despite their growing influence, verification testing is notably absent. These agents are being entrusted with critical responsibilities in sensitive sectors, such as banking and healthcare, without proper oversight. AI agents require…

Watching robots awkwardly flop around, cause robot body pile-ups on the soccer field, and accidentally lose their heads while taking part in a 1500-metre sprint at the first Robot Humanoid Games in China was not only entertaining, it was a reminder of just how far robotics has come — and how far it still has to go. While humanoid robots still struggle to walk across a stage, in other corners of the world automation is quietly revolutionising industries. At Picnic Technologies, the Netherlands’ fastest growing online supermarket, robots are compiling your grocery orders so delivery ‘shoppers’ can get them from…

Vibe coding is redefining who can build software. By enabling code generation through natural language prompts, it’s quickly gained traction among startups and indie developers. But the biggest opportunity lies ahead: the enterprise.   The rapid rise of Lovable — which recently raised a $200mn Series A at a $1.8bn valuation — illustrates the remarkable progress of vibe coding. Having backed the Swedish startup at the seed stage, I see this as just the beginning. What’s next? A fundamental upheaval of who can build software — a cultural shift set to transform entire industries.     The vibe coding revolution The disruptive power of…

The European space industry is booming. Yet despite the boom, the industry is struggling to find commercial buyers for arguably its most valuable output: data.  At the Living Planet Symposium 2025 in Vienna, the European Space Agency (ESA) and private sector leaders laid out Europe’s bold space ambitions and called for increased cooperation to address deep commercial gaps. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, highlighted one key focus. “Earth observation within the European Space Agency is a major priority,” he said. ESA has had recent successful missions. Its miniature satellite Φsat-2, for example, has started transmitting high-definition images back to Earth…

A new pocket-sized Starlink alternative promises secure military communications — safe from interference by billionaire CEOs. The system, named the RU1, was unveiled today by Swedish startup TERASi. It’s billed as the world’s smallest and lightest mm-Wave radio, a form of communications that offers blazing-fast speeds and huge bandwidth. James Campion, the CEO and co-founder of TERASi, describes the portable device as “the GoPro of backhaul radios.” “RU1 can be deployed in minutes to keep units connected in fast-changing environments,” Campion told TNW. The devices, he continued, can be installed on tripods or drones. Multiple RU1s can then link into…

A decade ago, startups often equated success with rapid headcount growth. The formula was simple: build a product, raise a round, hire fast. Bigger teams meant bigger bets. But the rulebook is getting rewritten as a new generation of startups scales with leaner teams and fewer people. They’re not building out sprawling customer support or sales teams, and seem to be automating what once warranted entire departments. Their growth is quite remarkable. Cursor, which became the fastest-growing SaaS company in history, generated $200mn in revenue with 30 employees. Midjourney made $200mnn with 40. Ben Lang’s site Tiny Teams tracks these…

Since ChatGPT’s debut in 2022, generative AI quickly entered our work, study, and personal lives, helping to speed up research, content creation, and more at an unprecedented rate. Enthusiasm for generative AI tools has understandably gained traction experiencing an even faster adoption rate than the Internet or PCs, but experts warn we should proceed with caution. As with every new technology, generative AI can launch society forward in a number of ways, but it can also bring consequences if left unchecked. One of those voices is Natasha Govender-Ropert, Head of AI for Financial Crimes at Rabobank. She joined TNW founder…

Remember the movie Dodgeball? That ridiculous scene where the coach makes his team run across a busy highway? The logic: “If you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball.” Europe’s approach to AI feels similar: if you can survive our labyrinth of rules, you can survive anywhere.  Conversations with European companies about AI rarely begin with “What can it do?” Instead, they open with a sigh and ask, “Are we allowed to use this?”  For most industries, that’s a creativity-killer, but legal professionals thrive in regulatory swamps. Europe’s swamp is about to become its competitive moat. The paradox: red…