The Next Web (TNW), one of Europe’s most prominent tech brands, has announced the closure of its media and events divisions. The company will close its operations by the finish of September after almost 20 years on the market.
TNW was founded in 2006 by Boris Veldhuisen van Zanten and Patrick de Laive. The first conference gathered just 280 participants in a church in Amsterdam, but the event has since grown to 17,500 attfinishees and become a major platform for European startups.
The last TNW conference was held in June of this year. It attracted only 4,500 participants, half the number before the pandemic. In 2021, the organizers relied on online: 20,000 people joined virtually and another 4,500 offline.
In 2019, TNW was bought out by the Financial Times, which initially called the conference «a key asset in Europe.» But after an editorial exodus in 2024 and declining attfinishance, the FT decided to scale back its events and media.
TNW co-founder Boris Veldhuizen van Zanten commented on the decision: «We started at a time when the world was going digital, and we had the privilege of accelerating that process. Now digital has become the norm, and we close this chapter with pride.»
The only direction that will continue to operate is the TNW coworking space in Amsterdam, reports EU-Startups .
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