The Next Web

The Next Web Original and proudly opinionated perspectives for Generation T

  • Quantum art, multiball, and AI selfies: TNW 2025’s best side quests
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 12 June 2025 at 16:14

    Qubits, entanglement, superposition, trapped ions, Schrödinger’s cat. These terms sound strange because the world of quantum mechanics — where things can exist in multiple states at once — is strange.  Thankfully, a group of students from TU Delft are bringing these powerful sub-atomic […]

  • European VCs just made a record bet on this fusion energy underdog
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 11 June 2025 at 16:36

    Two years ago, German startup Proxima Fusion emerged from stealth with big ambitions to make a little-known stellarator fusion machine a serious contender in the race for commercial fusion energy. Today, the Munich-based company secured Europe’s largest-ever private investment in fusion power — […]

  • Clearest views yet of Sun’s south pole may unlock its mysteries
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 11 June 2025 at 14:00

    A spacecraft developed by European scientists and companies has captured unprecedented new views of the Sun’s south pole. Built by Airbus in the UK, Solar Orbiter was developed as part of a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The probe launched on a United Launch […]

  • TNW Backstage dives into the debate over sustainable motorsport
    by Thomas Macaulay on 11 June 2025 at 13:55

    This week on TNW Backstage, we’re heading into the fast lane — and straight into the climate debate. In the final episode of the podcast, we revisit a divisive bet on sustainable motorsport: Extreme E, the all-electric racing series. The events sent SUVs hurtling through some of the planet’s […]

  • World’s biggest sand battery to heat Finnish town without fossil fuels
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 11 June 2025 at 05:00

    A small town in Finland is about to ditch fossil fuels in its heating network thanks to a sand-filled energy storage tank the size of a house. Finnish startup Polar Night Energy recently turned on the so-called sand battery in the municipality of Pornainen, an hour north of Helsinki.  The machine, […]

  • Live selling: the next big hustle sweeping Europe
    by Megan Carnegie on 10 June 2025 at 06:30

    Tinny music plays in a dimly lit basement as we watch a teenager pull football shirts off a nearby clothing rack and hold them up to the camera. He describes each item monotonously — the team, season, colour, and condition — before sticking on a numbered label and transferring them to another […]

  • Starmer tells UK to ‘push past’ AI job fears as tech leaders raise alarm
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 9 June 2025 at 13:23

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said it is time to “push past” concerns that AI poses a threat to human jobs — contradicting the concerns of some of tech’s biggest players. Speaking at London Tech Week today, Starmer called for industry to embed AI throughout the UK economy, from […]

  • Why tech companies are snubbing the London Stock Exchange
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 6 June 2025 at 12:54

    British fintech Wise said this week it would shift its primary listing from London to New York, joining a growing list of firms snubbing the London Stock Exchange. UK chip designer Arm opted for a New York IPO in 2023, while food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway quit the LSE for Amsterdam in […]

  • Europe’s $3.1B satellite merger won’t rival Musk’s Starlink
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 5 June 2025 at 14:49

    Two satellite heavyweights are about to form a European rival to Starlink. But they’ll face an uphill battle to compete with Elon Musk’s firm. Luxembourg-based SES’ proposed $3.1bn takeover of Intelsat is set to get the green light from EU officials, Reuters reports. A final verdict is […]

  • Exclusive: New autonomous tractor can shift from farming to warfare
    by Siôn Geschwindt on 5 June 2025 at 11:34

    Spanish startup Voltrac has emerged from stealth with an autonomous tractor that lives a double life.  In peacetime, the 3.5-tonne electric vehicle zips around farms, hauling heavy goods and using cameras to gather data on crop health. But when enlisted, the tractor is equally capable of […]