The European Technology Network (ETN), a London-based live tech show founded by Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers, raised a $1.6 million seed round on July 27, 2026. Backers include Powerhouse Capital, Axel Springer SE, LadBible, and angel investors from OpenAI and DeepMind. TechCrunch

ETN launched in October 2025, streaming two days a week on X and YouTube from its domain, etnshow.co. The show has drawn more than 5 million views since launch. It runs live from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. UK time, mixing trending story breakdowns with guest interviews.

On the same day as the funding announcement, ETN expanded from two days to a five-day-a-week schedule, Monday through Friday. The seed money funds a move to a larger studio in Kings Cross, London, a team expansion from its current eight people, and the launch of a newsletter. The company monetizes through advertising, with sponsors including Polymarket, Base, and ElevenLabs.

The show receives about 70 pitches per week from guests wanting to appear. That level of demand points to real appetite from founders, operators, and publicists for a European counterpart to the US-centric live tech shows that currently dominate the format. The investor mix adds further context. Axel Springer SE, a major European media conglomerate, brings media infrastructure and distribution experience. LadBible contributes expertise in reaching younger audiences. Angel investors from OpenAI and DeepMind lend credibility in the AI sector that dominates much of current tech coverage. Powerhouse Capital provides venture-capital backing.

The broader pattern here is one that has accelerated over the past two years across tech media. Live, personality-driven shows have become a primary distribution channel for product announcements and founder stories, taking over some of the role that traditional press releases and embargoed briefings once played. A show that pulls 5 million views across nine months and fields 70 weekly guest pitches has effectively become a press tour stop. The sponsors reinforce that picture: a prediction-market platform (Polymarket), a Coinbase-incubated Layer 2 blockchain (Base), and an AI voice synthesis company (ElevenLabs) are exactly the categories spending heavily on attention right now.

The expansion to five days a week is the more structurally interesting move. Two days a week is manageable for a small team; five days is a fundamentally different production commitment. It requires a larger editorial operation, more booking throughput, and the ability to produce compelling content on slow news days. The Kings Cross studio and the team growth from eight people are the operational costs of that bet. The newsletter adds an owned-audience channel alongside the platform-dependent streams on X and YouTube, which is a sensible hedge against the risk that algorithmic changes on those platforms could reduce reach.

The competitive landscape for European tech media is not crowded with direct equivalents. ETN is positioning itself in a space that US shows have largely defined, and the European tech ecosystem has grown enough in depth and deal activity to sustain dedicated coverage. Whether five days a week of live programming holds audience attention over time is the open question. The initial traction and investor backing give ETN the runway to find out.