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Outlet profile

The Next Web

European tech-trade press, non-partisan on U.S. politics

Owned byTekpon, a Bucharest, Romania-based software marketplace and SaaS reseller company founded by Alexandru Stan, which bought TNW's media and events brands from the Financial Times in December 2025
FundingCommercial: sponsored content, conference/event revenue, advertising, and integration with Tekpon's SaaS marketplace business, rather than subscriptions or a single billionaire patron
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Next Web was founded in Amsterdam in 2006 by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive, launching its news site in 2009 and building a reputation through its annual TNW Conference as a hub for Europe's startup and tech scene. In 2019 the Financial Times Group acquired a majority stake, aiming to expand FT's reach into tech and events coverage, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit TNW's conference-driven revenue hard. Under FT ownership the outlet narrowed its focus toward startups, AI, and European digital policy while stepping back from broader consumer-tech news it was known for in its earlier years. By 2025 the FT wound down and then sold the TNW media and events brands, and in December 2025 Tekpon, a Bucharest-based SaaS marketplace and reseller, acquired 100% of the TNW brand with plans to integrate it into its own marketplace strategy and expand conference programming around AI and SaaS. TNW has not been a significant source of U.S. political coverage; its editorial identity centers on European startups, venture capital, and technology's societal effects rather than partisan analysis. Its repeated ownership changes (independent outlet to FT-owned to Tekpon-owned) reflect the broader financial fragility of niche tech-media and conference businesses rather than any ideological shift.

Sources

  1. Tekpon acquires TNW (The Next Web) brand from The Financial Times
  2. Financial Times sells The Next Web - Talking Biz News
  3. The Next Web conference shuts down | Sifted
  4. TNW (website) - Wikipedia
  5. A New Era for TNW
  6. Exclusive: Software marketplace owner acquires The Next Web, plans relaunch

Profile compiled 2026-09-24; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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