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Geeky international news on technology, business and culture.

Big business can still innovate — by adding startup leaders to the C-suite

12 September 2025 @ 8:00 am

Startups love hiring big business leaders into advisory and C-suite roles. These hires solve a common issue: as startups grow and look to compete with incumbents, they need some corporate talent to see them over the line.  But big, established businesses have a different common issue. They’re too big, too established, and being outcompeted by the very companies that are hiring their talent.  Right now, it’s the hare and the tortoise — but slow and steady isn’t winning the race this time.  Established businesses need to take a page out of the startup playbook and hire for the C-suite from…

Startup wisdom: How to break the cycle of meeting hangovers

10 September 2025 @ 6:05 am

Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, Vivian Acquah, a certified inclusion strategist, workshop facilitator, and founder of Amplify DEI, shares her tips on ending meeting hangovers. So, you’re a leader. Your leadership involves managing a team while having both a defined direction and multiple essential goals that need completion. Your goal is to plan effectively and empower your team to achieve high performance. The truth is that team leadership extends beyond goal achievement. Leaders must handle the complex interpersonal situations that emerge when working with people. The speed…

Founders’ takes: How AI is rewriting the playbook for investing

9 September 2025 @ 1:00 pm

Founders’ takes is a new series featuring expert insights from tech leaders transforming industries with artificial intelligence. In this edition, Cem Ötkün, CEO and co-founder of startup scouting platform Bounce Watch, shares his views on how AI is reshaping investing. Venture capital, once built on networks and narratives, is now undergoing a structural shift. AI is no longer a futuristic add-on to the investment process — it’s becoming an operating system. And for those investing in the opaque world of private markets, it’s not optional. It’s existential. The broken machinery behind the pitch Despite all the capital flowing through venture, much…

Is Europe ready for self-driving cars?

9 September 2025 @ 9:00 am

In a recent interview with TNW, Jelle Prins, the mind behind Uber’s first app, shared his vision of a world transformed by autonomous vehicles. “Imagine getting into a car here in Amsterdam in the evening,” he mused, “and waking up the next morning in a mountain village in France for a day of snowboarding.” In his mind, self-driving is the next step in the evolution of mobility, and the question is not if but when it will land in Europe. He shared his vision for this future — and his plans to design proteins using AI — with TNW founder…This story continues at The

TNW: Events and media signing out, 2006–2025

8 September 2025 @ 4:33 pm

We want to share an important update with our contributors and community. After the FT Group acquired a majority stake in TNW in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted TNW’s core revenue stream. Despite significant efforts in the years since, no sustainable path to commercial viability was found. In light of this and the broader financial outlook, the TNW Board has had to make the difficult decision to close its Events & Media division. TNW Spaces will continue to operate as usual, but the media site will only publish new content until the end of September, and there will be…Th

Reclaiming the stack: Europe’s bid for digital sovereignty

5 September 2025 @ 6:10 am

The entanglement of tech and politics has become impossible to ignore — especially in the United States, where the lines between Silicon Valley and Washington are rapidly dissolving. At President Trump’s inauguration, the CEOs of Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet took prominent seats — even ahead of cabinet nominees — an unmistakable sign of how closely US tech giants are now intertwined with national policy agendas. Just days earlier, outgoing President Biden had warned of a rising “tech industrial complex.” This isn’t just symbolism. It reflects a broader shift: US tech firms are aligning themselves with a domestic industrial strategy that…

How Dutch startup Tap Electric is fixing EV charging chaos

4 September 2025 @ 8:30 am

Driving electric can be a pleasure, but charging often feels like a pain. Public facilities can be hard to find, prices swing wildly, and hidden fees add up. Incompatible systems and long waits only deepen the frustration, leaving drivers anxious about where to charge — and what it will cost. A Dutch startup called Tap Electric has ambitious plans to solve these problems. Founded in 2020, the company has built a platform to make charging transparent, accessible, and affordable. For drivers, the platform provides clearer choices, cheaper options, and tools to manage their charging sessions. For EV station owners, installers,…

Startup wisdom: How to get your startup noticed — 5 principles to master

3 September 2025 @ 6:00 am

Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, Lize Hong, the founder of strategic communications firm Venture Vox, shares her tips on getting startups noticed. Startups don’t fail because they lack a good product. They fail because no one knows or cares about them. It’s brutal, but true. While many founders cling to the myth that “build it and they will come,” the reality is that attention is oxygen for startups. I’ve learned this through experience. As a tech communications expert, I’ve defended the reputations of companies like Google and Uber…

Past the tipping point: Why the climate transition is now in our hands

2 September 2025 @ 8:30 am

Jacqueline van den Ende, CEO of Carbon Equity, believes we have already passed the climate transition tipping point: “Last year, 90% of all new electricity production worldwide came from renewable sources, i.e. generated via solar, wind, or water. Meanwhile, China is actually ahead of its climate goals compared to other countries,” she said. This isn’t a sign to let up; if anything, van den Ende believes we need more investment into climate tech solutions that will help accelerate the transition and make clean energy accessible across the globe. Yet, European climate tech funding sunk to a five-year low in Q1…

Founders’ takes: AI isn’t the end of developers — it’s their evolution

1 September 2025 @ 8:30 am

Founders’ takes is a new series featuring expert insights from tech leaders transforming industries with artificial intelligence. In this edition, Steven Kleinveld, founder of applied AI lab Skylark, argues that vibe coding won’t replace developers — it’ll upgrade them. There’s been a lot of talk lately that AI is going to replace developers. With the rise of tools that let you prompt your way into building apps, people are starting to wonder: “Are developers even still needed?” The short answer: yes — more than ever. The hype around no-code and “vibe coding” makes it seem like anyone can build a solid MVP…