European Technology Network raises $1.6 million to expand live show

European Technology Network said it raised $1.6 million in seed funding from Powerhouse Capital, Axel Springer SE, LadBible and angel investors from OpenAI and DeepMind. The new capital will support the network’s largest expansion yet, turning a small European live-show bet into a better-funded bid for influence across tech and media.

ETN, short for European Technology Network, has been pitched from the start as a European answer to TBPN, the live U.S. tech show that has become a magnet for founders, investors and operators who want immediate access to the room where deals and reputations are made. In an early LinkedIn post, the project was described in blunt terms: “Europe is getting its own TBPN” and “old media is slow, inaccurate, and irrelevant.”

That framing matters because the appeal of a live, personality-driven show is not just audience size. It offers a direct route to the people who shape capital, commentary and policy around European technology, without the filtering layer of a traditional newsroom. ETN’s earlier raise made the same ambition clear. Luke Knight said the project had already brought in £150,000 at a £1 million-plus valuation to build “the technology show for Europe,” following the brief rise of ETS Live.

The investor lineup gives the new round extra weight. Axel Springer SE owns Business Insider and Politico, placing one of Europe’s most recognizable publishing groups inside the financing of a format built around live, high-velocity commentary. Axel Springer and OpenAI announced a partnership in December 2023, underscoring why the presence of OpenAI-linked investors in ETN’s seed round stands out. LadBible’s participation adds another major media brand to the mix, while Powerhouse Capital and DeepMind-linked angels broaden the network’s reach across publishing and artificial intelligence.

The result is a more ambitious version of the same pitch: not a niche startup stream, but a live channel designed to sit closer to the center of European business conversation. ETN’s backers are wagering that founders, executives and commentators will keep moving toward shows that trade on access, speed and personality, and that in Europe, as in the United States, that audience can become an engine of power.