Europe got its own TBPN-style live show, and everyone’s angling for a guest spot

Founded by Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers in October of the previous year, the European Technology Network initially launched as a twice-weekly live stream dedicated to dissecting tech trends and news across the continent. Broadcast live on popular platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, the show quickly gained traction, amassing an impressive viewership of over 5 million. From its inception, ETN sought to fill a perceived void in the European media landscape, offering a dynamic and accessible platform for tech enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.

The network officially announced a $1.6 million seed funding round this past Monday, signaling strong investor confidence in its vision and growth trajectory. The funding round attracted a diverse and influential group of investors from across the media and technology sectors. Key participants included Powerhouse Capital, a prominent venture capital firm, and Axel Springer SE, the German publishing giant known for its extensive media holdings, including Business Insider and Politico. The popular digital media publication LadBible also joined the round, alongside angel investors with deep ties to the artificial intelligence community, including individuals from OpenAI and DeepMind. This fresh infusion of capital is set to fuel ETN’s most ambitious expansion to date.

With the new funding, ETN is embarking on a comprehensive growth strategy. The network is relocating to a spacious, state-of-the-art studio in Kings Cross, a vibrant district in London that has rapidly emerged as a nucleus for leading artificial intelligence startups. This strategic move places ETN at the heart of European innovation. Furthermore, the team, which currently consists of just eight members, is slated for significant expansion to support the increased operational demands. In addition to its expanded live programming, ETN will launch a dedicated newsletter to provide daily insights and updates to its growing audience. Crucially, the network is transitioning its live show schedule from two days a week to an ambitious five-day-a-week format, commencing immediately. This expanded schedule will soon feature interviews with high-profile guests such as George Robson, a partner at the esteemed venture capital firm Sequoia, and Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister who also serves as a senior advisor to leading AI companies Anthropic and Microsoft.

Knight and Chambers revealed in an interview with TechCrunch that ETN has already established itself as a mandatory stop on the press tour for European startups. The show has hosted a diverse array of innovators and leaders, including the founder of Synthesia, the CFO of Legora, the founder of Granola, and Kanishka Narayan, who holds the distinction of being the UK’s first AI Minister. Even American investors visiting London have made it a point to appear on the show, including a representative from the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, underscoring ETN’s burgeoning international appeal.

Ronan Chambers articulated the core philosophy behind ETN’s creation, stating that the network "was born out of a gaping hole in the industry" and is "centered around pace." He contended that the existing media ecosystem in the UK often struggles to keep up with the breakneck speed of technological advancements and the rapid developments within the tech scene. To illustrate this point, Chambers cited compelling statistics: London-based startups have collectively raised an astounding $14.7 billion this year alone, according to data from Dealroom. Among these, six companies have successfully secured over $500 million each: Wayve, Superintelligence, ElevenLabs, Recursive, Ineffable Intelligence, and Isomorphic Labs. Notably, the latter three were founded by alumni of DeepMind, highlighting the prolific talent emerging from London’s AI sector.

"These are things that have never happened in Europe before," Chambers emphasized, referring to the unprecedented velocity of capital flowing through the ecosystem. As ETN’s popularity surged, the founders found themselves inundated with approximately 70 pitches a week from potential guests eager to appear on the show. They would endeavor to squeeze as many as 12 interviews into their two-hour, twice-weekly broadcasts, a schedule that eventually proved unsustainable. Chambers explained the imperative for expansion: "We needed an outlet that could move at the pace of that," referring both to the overwhelming interest in the show and the rapid evolution of Europe’s tech ecosystem. "Which is the reason we’re going from two days a week to five days a week."

The forthcoming five-day format is designed to largely mirror the successful structure of its predecessor, albeit with expanded capacity. Each weekday will feature a live show running from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. UK time, during which Knight and Chambers will break down the day’s trending tech stories. This initial segment will be followed by a dedicated two-hour slot for guests, allowing them ample time to discuss their ventures, insights, and industry perspectives without strict thematic constraints. Looking ahead, ETN plans to diversify its content further by introducing regular debates, roundtables featuring multiple experts, and even a "Shark Tank"-style pitching session, offering startups a unique platform to present their ideas.

Chambers articulated ETN’s overarching mission: "We want to make it as useful as we can for the ecosystem." He stressed the critical need for increased discourse around pivotal topics such as artificial intelligence in Europe, the dynamics of venture capital and funding flows within the ecosystem, and the myriad of groundbreaking innovations emerging from the continent. "There needs to be more discourse around the amazing things that are happening in the tech ecosystem, and our role is to be the stage in which people can shout about all the amazing things they’re doing," he affirmed, positioning ETN as a vital forum for showcasing European tech prowess.

Like many contemporary media publications, ETN primarily generates revenue through advertising. The show has already attracted a roster of high-profile sponsors, indicating its growing influence and reach within the tech community. These sponsors include Polymarket, a popular prediction market platform; Base, a blockchain company; and ElevenLabs, a leading AI audio technology darling. This diverse range of sponsors reflects ETN’s appeal across various segments of the technology sector.

When questioned about the influence of TBPN, the buzzy founder-led business talk show based in the U.S., Knight and Chambers readily acknowledged its impact. They view John Coogan and Jordi Hays, the founders of TBPN, as pioneers in shaping this new genre of tech media. TBPN gained significant recognition as an informal yet authoritative platform for tech leaders and founders to announce product releases, new hires, or funding news in a congenial setting. Its recent acquisition by OpenAI, reportedly for a nine-figure sum, underscored its success and validated its model. Chambers drew a compelling analogy for ETN’s ambition: "My thinking was, if we can have an ITV and a BBC, why wouldn’t we have a regional version of this?" highlighting the aspiration for ETN to become a foundational, regionally relevant institution for tech news.

Despite its London base, ETN is committed to its pan-European identity. Chambers acknowledged the vastness and diversity of Europe, encompassing over 40 different countries and more than 200 spoken languages, 24 of which are officially recognized by the European Union. While reporting from London, he and Knight are making a concerted effort to feature guests from across the entire continent. Beyond hosting guests in their studio, they also travel extensively to cover major tech conferences throughout Europe. This commitment to on-the-ground reporting has seen them broadcast from events like the Panathenaea Conference in Athens and from within the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris for the RAISE AI Summit.

Chambers articulated his vision for this continental approach: "You have all these different cultures, these different minds coming together and creating different products. You get a taste of what makes [Europe] a superpower." This underscores ETN’s belief that Europe’s strength lies in its diverse intellectual capital and collaborative spirit. The founders also affirmed their global outlook, stating they would never turn away an American founder wishing to appear on the show. "It’s a European technology network, but we think there’s massive [global] opportunities," Chambers explained. Knight further elaborated, emphasizing that their conversations often challenge the narrative that pits the European tech ecosystem against that of the U.S. "We are globally optimistic," Knight stated. "We are pushing global prosperity from Europe. Wherever you want to go and build your company, wherever is the best place to go and build that company, go and do that, and we will shout for you to go and do that."

Knight and Chambers do not necessarily define themselves as traditional journalists. Instead, they see themselves as tech insiders driven by curiosity, eager to understand "what is going on and why." They also do not view ETN as a replacement for established media outlets but rather as a complementary force, intending to work in tandem with traditional publications. "We rely on traditional media," Chambers admitted, acknowledging that a significant portion of the news they discuss on ETN originates from these sources.

Ultimately, the duo’s overarching goal is to meticulously document the compelling stories emerging from Europe’s new wave of technological success, from companies like ElevenLabs in London to Lovable in Stockholm. They aspire to cultivate an environment where the upcoming generation can grasp the profound potential of technology as a catalyst for national progress and prosperity. Chambers passionately concluded, "It riles up the next generation to the point where it’s no longer cool to finish university and go into banking or consulting. People want to leave university and go straight into building a startup, and I think that’s an amazing thing." Through ETN, Knight and Chambers aim to inspire a new era of European entrepreneurship and innovation.