DiscoverThe Next Web
The Next Web
Claim Ownership

The Next Web

Author:

Subscribed: 166Played: 6,724
Share

Description

Original and proudly opinionated perspectives for Generation T
4730 Episodes
Reverse
Ending graciously

Ending graciously

2025-09-29--:--

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 Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
Left unchecked, Europe’s narrow focus on AI investment will come at the health of half its population. As venture capital floods disproportionately into the AI sector, women’s health innovation — the definition of essential infrastructure — is once again left fighting for scraps. In 2021, global femtech investment peaked at €1.89bn before plunging to just €1.1bn the next year, amid a tech funding apocalypse and capital making a headlong dash towards AI. Several factors contributed to this decline — broader market conditions, withering investor risk appetite, and natural sector maturation. But the surge in AI funding coinciding with a plunge…This story continues at The Next Web
Founders’ takes is a new series featuring expert insights from tech leaders transforming industries with artificial intelligence. In this edition, Lucas Spreiter, founder of German startup Venta AI, shares his vision of AI employees. Artificial intelligence is about to enable the most dramatic shift of the century: the transition from human labour to AI labour. In the coming years, businesses won’t just use AI as a tool — they’ll employ AI as real colleagues, handling critical workflows end-to-end. That shift is inevitable. The real question is: whose employees will we be hiring? If Europe doesn’t catch up with the US and…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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 Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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,…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
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…This story continues at The Next Web
loading
Comments (1)

Heather Francis

Thank you for sharing you can download WhatsApp plus completely free here https://coimobile.com/whatsapp-plus/

Aug 10th
Reply