The Subsequent Internet, the Amsterdam-based firm behind one in all Europe’s most recognisable tech occasions, has confirmed will probably be winding down its occasions and media operations by the tip of September following a strategic evaluate.
The Monetary Occasions (FT), which took a majority stake in TNW in 2019, confirmed at present a call first shared with employees in June. The information was first reported by Amy Lewin, Editor of Sifted, one other FT-backed publication.
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, the Co-founder and board member of TNW, who spoke with EU-Startups simply after the announcement broke, acknowledged: “TNW has been the journey of a lifetime. We began out at a singular second in historical past, simply because the world was shifting on-line and every thing was changing into digital. It was a thrill to not solely witness that shift, however to assist spark and speed up it.”
He continued: “Over time, as digital turned the norm, our position felt much less about breaking new floor and extra about celebrating what had already been achieved. I’m grateful we obtained to play our half, and I’m glad we are able to now shut this chapter with satisfaction.”
Based in 2006 by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive, The Subsequent Internet (TNW) began as a tech convention with simply 280 attendees in a church in Amsterdam. By 2019, it had scaled as much as host 17,500 individuals and change into a central assembly level for Europe’s startup group.
Its newest – and now ultimate – convention came about in June this yr at NDSM in Amsterdam.
The announcement marks a major turning level for the European startup scene, which has seen TNW develop into greater than only a convention organiser. Alongside the flagship occasion, TNW developed a media publication and operated a coworking house.
Whereas each the media and occasions companies are closing down, the FT confirmed the coworking arm will proceed to “function as normal.”
Initially seen as a key European asset for the FT, TNW was praised on the time of acquisition with FT Dwell World Writer Angela Mackay saying: “TNW is a longtime and worthwhile enterprise that produces one of many largest and most critically acclaimed tech startup occasions in Europe. There are clear synergies between TNW and FT Dwell, in sharing audiences and delivering the FT’s world class journalism on dwell phases in Europe. We stay up for delivering top quality applications with our new companions.”
However indicators of bother had been surfacing. The media crew at TNW started to shrink after a number of editorial employees left on the finish of 2024, and convention attendance, which reached 10,000 between 2022 and 2024, fell to only 4,500 in-person attendees this yr – lower than half of pre-pandemic ranges.
Although no formal figures have been disclosed on the variety of roles affected, the FT mentioned it has been “supporting them via this transition.”
The Covid-19 pandemic noticed TNW pivot to digital codecs, with 20,000 digital attendees becoming a member of in 2021, alongside 4,500 in individual. However the broader post-pandemic panorama for Tech occasions has been a blended bag.
EU-Startups has adopted TNW’s journey carefully for effectively over a decade. Our first piece on the occasion dates again to 2011, after we requested readers: “Will you be a part of the TNW Convention in Amsterdam, in April?”.
With this chapter coming to a detailed, TNW’s exit underscores a broader shift in Europe’s startup ecosystem – a maturing scene the place media, occasions, and community-building face new financial and structural challenges, but additionally new alternatives.
