Geeky international news on technology, business and culture.
Tekpon acquires TNW (The Next Web) brand from The Financial Times
8 December 2025 @ 7:27 pm
Tekpon has acquired 100% of the TNW media and events brands, which cover and convene the European technology ecosystem, from the FT. The transaction is Tekpon’s largest investment in media and events so far. It broadens the company’s reach across SaaS and AI and strengthens its role in the global innovation landscape. TNW’s brand and editorial standards will be maintained, while its events and digital platforms will be integrated into Tekpon’s wider strategy. The FT will continue to own and operate TNW Spaces, Amsterdam’s dynamic tech hub, offering private offices and coworking spaces that support a thriving community of startups,…Ending graciously
29 September 2025 @ 12:00 pm
A few decades ago, when I was raising funding for a startup, I made a lasting impression on an investor by not only talking about how successful we would be, but also highlighting what would happen if we weren’t. Later, in an informal setting, I asked him what had persuaded him to invest in us. He told me that during the pitch, I had said, “And if all our predictions and expectations are wrong, we will use the last of our funding for a magnificent farewell dinner for all our investors. You’ll have lost your money, but at least you’ll…This story continues at The Next WebHow robotics could turn e-waste into a tech goldmine
24 September 2025 @ 9:00 am
E-waste has become a global problem. Unfortunately, the majority of discarded used technology, known as e-waste, is dumped or processed in unsafe conditions. Around 78% of electronic products aren’t properly recycled — and the garbage pile keeps growing. In 2024, the world churned out 1.22 billion smartphones. Add this to the billions of TVs, laptops, and computers, and what we have is a saturated market that fuels a throwaway cycle. A United Nations report forecasts that e-waste will grow to 80 million tonnes by 2030. “That’s enough to fill 1.5 million 40-ton trucks, which could circle the planet,” says Eric…Startup wisdom: 5 prompt engineering tips for vibe coding success
24 September 2025 @ 6:03 am
Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, Dainius Kavoliūnas, head of no-code platform Hostinger Horizons, shares his tips on vibe coding. Vibe coding has become an indispensable tool, especially for entrepreneurial thinkers building apps and platforms for solving everyday problems, streamlining business processes, or enhancing digital experiences. It represents a paradigm shift in software development. Instead of writing lines of code, you can now describe your requirement and have AI bring it to life. Vibe coding is fast, intuitive and opens up a new realm of possibilities where code…How European battery startups can thrive alongside Asian giants
23 September 2025 @ 9:00 am
The global battery market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with projections showing the sector will reach $400bn by 2030. Yet European entrepreneurs often feel locked out, watching Chinese giants like CATL dominate headlines with record-breaking IPOs while homegrown champions like Northvolt file for bankruptcy, exposing the harsh realities of competing against established Asian supply chains. Still, Europe will never be entirely independent in green energy and will want to cooperate with Asia. Yet the continent has strong demand for on-shoring supply, including green power and critical manufacturing. There are also genuine competitive advantages available to European green battery startups: proximity to…The EU’s €2T budget overlooks a key tech pillar: Open source
23 September 2025 @ 8:30 am
On July 16, the European Commission proposed a €2tn seven-year budget – the largest in the EU’s history – to boost autonomy, competitiveness, and resilience. The spending plan addresses cybersecurity, innovation, and other key digital pillars, but omits a crucial component: open source. Open source software – built and maintained by communities rather than private companies alone, and free to edit and modify – is the foundation of today’s digital infrastructure. Since the 1990s, it has been ever-present in the digital infrastructure that European industry and public sector institutions depend on, creating huge dependencies on open source applications and libraries. From…Opinion: Europe’s VCs must embrace risk — or resign the AI era to US control
22 September 2025 @ 8:00 am
Europe’s AI startups are losing ground to the US — and their own investors are to blame. Only 5% of global venture capital is raised in the EU, according to the European Commission. The US, by contrast, attracts more than half, while China takes 40%. Yet Europe isn’t capital-poor: households save €1.4tn a year, nearly twice as much as in America. Still, very little of that money finds its way into startups, despite a plethora of incentives like the UK’s EIS tax relief for business angels. Even when funding is available, Europe’s venture capital firms are slow and cautious. Funds…VCs are growing wary of ‘AI-washing’ – but real innovation is still winning investors
18 September 2025 @ 10:00 am
Venture capital investment surged to a 10-quarter high of €108.3bn in Q1 2025, fuelled by artificial intelligence, which accounted for over €44.6bn raised. In recent years, AI has felt like a money-printing machine. Investors, eager to avoid missing out on the next big thing, were quick to back almost any startup that mentioned AI in their pitch deck. The idea didn’t need to be particularly well-implemented or useful. In some cases, even the illusion of innovation was enough to earn a unicorn valuation. But investors are now wising up to AI-washing. As the CEO of Gradient Labs — an AI…Opinion: Ukraine is becoming a global defence tech powerhouse
17 September 2025 @ 2:00 pm
The full-scale war has reshaped priorities for Ukraine’s tech sector. Innovative military technologies and advanced defence solutions are not only essential for the country’s security — they’re also among the most promising vectors for business growth. Ukrainian defence tech is tested directly on the battlefield, under the most challenging conditions. These circumstances allow products to prove their effectiveness, attracting interest from international partners, investors, and allied countries looking to strengthen their own defence capabilities. From my position at the heart of Ukraine’s tech ecosystem, I’ve seen how quickly the sector has shifted towards defence — and how global attention is now…Startup wisdom: Why resilience is the most underrated metric in startup success
17 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, global traction strategist Nina Aziz Justin — founder of The Resilience Mentor — shares her approach to building resilience. In the startup world, we’re taught to obsess over metrics. Burn rate, CAC, MRR — they dominate the dashboards and drive the decisions. And yes, data matters. But there’s something quietly more essential that rarely gets the same spotlight: resilience. This piece offers a balanced perspective — one that holds space for both sides. While execution metrics are essential for traction and…
President Donald Trump delivered a nationally televised address carried by all major networks, and repeated many claims that have already been widely debunked. On Wednesday, CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale singled out eight of the president's most obvious lies in what he characterized as a "half-asleep kind of presidential speech." He began by breaking down Trump's claims about having "stopped" inflation, pointing out that inflation was still ongoing. He then said that Trump's claim of inheriting record-high inflation was false, and that at the time former President Joe Biden left office, inflation was at three percent, 
President Donald Trump’s high-energy delivery of fabricated numbers drew laughter and applause from social media users Wednesday night.“This isn’t a speech, this is a primal scream of panic,” said Atlantic writer Tom Nichols, referring to Trump’s fast-talking “infomercial-style” delivery of bogus data and bragging. “Two minutes in and we’ve already hit 11 on the bonkers scale,” Nichols continued, adding: “I’m very glad that all the networks are carrying this, people 
NOTUS reports the House Republican Conference is being consumed by infighting as Congress prepares to leave town for the holidays.Many members are fed up with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership, as Republicans head home to constituents who could give them an earful for exploding their healthcare costs with the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.“It’s a s——storm of Johnson’s own creating,” one senior Republican member said after four moderate Republi
Audio clips obtained by the New York Times show President Donald Trump giving explicit instructions to Republican in Georgia on how to flip the result of the 2020 election, in which Trump lost Georgia to then-President-elect Joe Biden.On Wednesday, the Times reported it had obtained the clips as part of a collection of documents pertaining to the recently dismissed Fulton County, Georgia criminal case against Trump and more than a dozen of his advisors and associates. In one 12- minute phone call, Trump is heard talking to the late former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R) — who died in 2023 �
CNN host Erin Burnett reports Republicans are already shaping up talking points to respond to the looming release of all remaining evidence pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.“We've obtained a leaked Republican memo that has the talking points on the Epstein files that I guess they're supposed to use when they're talking about it,” Burnett said, adding that the memo makes clear “that Republicans are supposed to deflect attention away from any mentions of Trump and instead focus on Democrats’ handling of the Epstein probe.”
Social media piled on President Donald Trump’s admission that his mounting aggressive action against the nation of Venezuela is about mineral resources."Getting land, oil rights, whatever we had -- they took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “But they're not gonna do that. We want it back. They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there. They threw our companies out. And we want it back."“This is extortion,” said actor Jon Cryer on Bl
President Donald Trump appears to be earnestly looking for ways to serve an illegal and unconstitutional third term in the White House.That's according to a Wednesday article in the Wall Street Journal, which reported that attorney Alan Dershowitz — who advised Trump's legal team during his first impeachment — recently met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the possibility of Trump remaining in the White House after the 2028 election. Dershowit
Season 49 of CBS' hit show Survivor will air its scheduled three-hour finale on Wednesday night — though there will be a significant interruption in the episode due to President Donald Trump's Oval Office address at 9 PM.The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Trump's scheduled address – which is reportedly going to highlight the president's second-term agenda and goals heading into 2026 — will preempt the Survivor season finale, much to the chagrin of the show's fans and former contestants. Surv
Talking Points Memo writer Kate Riga reports a loyal ally of President Donald Trump appears to be turning on one of the president’s judicial nominees.“Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), usually a fairly reliable Republican foot soldier, grilled a Trump judicial nominee Wednesday about his bigoted preachings,” Riga wrote Wednesday.Trump nominated attorney Justin Olson to be a U.S
Despite being given powers well beyond previous presidents, President Donald Trump has largely outsourced his duties to advisors who are actually running the White House's day-to-day operations, according to a recent analysis.In a Wednesday op-ed for the New York Times, columnist Jamelle Bouie argued that Trump is mostly "uninterested in anyone except his most devoted fans, and would rather collect gifts from foreign businessmen than take the reins of his administration." Bouie pointed to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles'