Europe now has its own answer to TBPN — a live, daily tech show that kicks off June 27 and is already drawing top guests and investors from across the ecosystem.
Founded last October by Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers, the London-based European Technology Network (ETN) started as a two-day-a-week live stream breaking down tech trends and news. Streamed on X and YouTube, it has already racked up over 5 million views.
On Monday, the network announced a $1.6 million seed round from major media players, including Powerhouse Capital, Axel Springer SE (owner of Business Insider and Politico), LadBible, and angel investors from OpenAI and DeepMind. The funding fuels ETN’s biggest expansion yet: a move into a large studio in Kings Cross — the heart of London’s AI startup scene — a growing team (currently just eight), a new newsletter, and a daily live show schedule starting immediately.
The expanded format will see Knight and Chambers interview high-profile guests like Sequoia partner George Robson and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, now a senior advisor to Anthropic and Microsoft. ETN has already become a must-stop on European startup press tours, hosting the founder of Synthesia, the CFO of Legora, the founder of Granola, and UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan. Even American investors from firms like Andreessen Horowitz have dropped by when in town.
“ETN was born out of a gaping hole in the industry,” Chambers told TechCrunch. “It’s centered around pace.” He explained that the UK media ecosystem can't keep up with the speed of tech. So far this year, London startups have raised $14.7 billion, according to Dealroom, with six companies each raising over $500 million — including Wayve, Superintelligence, ElevenLabs, Recursive, Ineffable Intelligence, and Isomorphic Labs (the last three founded by DeepMind alumni).
“These are things that have never happened in Europe before,” Chambers said, referring to the rapid flow of capital. As the show grew, they received about 70 guest pitches a week, trying to cram 12 interviews into two hours, twice a week. “We needed an outlet that could move at the pace of that,” he added, explaining the shift to five days a week.
The daily format mirrors the current one: a live show from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. UK time, breaking down trending stories, followed by two hours of guest interviews. Plans also include debates, roundtables, and a Shark Tank-style pitching session. “We want to make it as useful as we can for the ecosystem,” Chambers said. “There needs to be more discourse around AI, venture capital, and the amazing things happening in tech. Our role is to be the stage where people can shout about what they’re doing.”
ETN monetizes through advertising, with major sponsors including prediction market Polymarket, blockchain company Base, and AI audio startup ElevenLabs.
via TechCrunch