News

  • Ending graciously
    by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten on September 29, 2025 at 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 Web […]

  • How robotics could turn e-waste into a tech goldmine
    by Ray Fernandez on September 24, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Startup wisdom: 5 prompt engineering tips for vibe coding success
    by Dainius Kavoliūnas on September 24, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • How European battery startups can thrive alongside Asian giants
    by Joseba Villate on September 23, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • The EU’s €2T budget overlooks a key tech pillar: Open source
    by Daniel Stenberg on September 23, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Opinion: Europe’s VCs must embrace risk — or resign the AI era to US control
    by Alex Menn on September 22, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • VCs are growing wary of ‘AI-washing’ – but real innovation is still winning investors
    by Dimitri Masin on September 18, 2025 at 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…This story continues at The Next Web […]

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