There’s a subtle but undeniable shift happening in European tech media. It feels like the beginning of a new era, or at least the beginning of the beginning of a new era. Some publications have disappeared or dramatically shifted focus. Others have doubled down on their perspective and expanded their readership. New names are popping up with new ways of doing things and reaching an audience.
If you’re a founder, operator, investor, or just trying to understand what the heck is actually going on in European tech, you already know the media map looks nothing like it did five years ago. But where to begin?
Start here, with Black Unicorn’s guide to the new world of tech media:
ESTABLISHED PLAYERS
You know them, you read them, maybe you love them. These are the publications that defined European startup coverage for a decade, and still hold major sway.
Sifted
The short version: Backed by the Financial Times, staffed by journalists who question everything, and the gold standard for editorial analysis.
The long version: Sifted is a tech media juggernaut now producing insights by a growing team of analysts. Their reports, briefings, and other materials inform the startup ecosystem and are especially handy for VCs. In addition to organising the Sifted Summit, one of the most important startup and VC events in Europe, they organise a number of webinars and smaller events. Their journalists travel across Europe to events and on reporting missions to break the newest stories. The biggest countries and sectors have dedicated journalists. “On startup Europe, for startup Europe.”
Learn more: Andrii from Unzip Media interviewed Amy Lewin recently to find out more about Sifted’s approach and editorial model. Check out the video here.
Tech.eu
The short version:One of the most complete sources of European tech news, period.
The long version: Tech.eu was founded by former TechCrunch journalist Robin Wauters, who wanted to bring his former employer’s standards for high-level tech journalism to Europe. The publication is known for its incredible team, who also collect data to turn into insights through reports and weekly summaries. Following the departures of Wauters and Dan Taylor, Cate Lawrence’s writing and personality now drive the brand, which remains influential. Various European tech communities are well-covered with news and features, and staff analysts also produce quarterly and yearly reports. They also organise the Tech.eu Summit, which takes place every year in London.
Learn more: We spoke with Tech.eu’s founder Robin Wauters for the first-ever episode of our podcast Runway. Check it out here and below. More to follow, so watch this space!
EU Startups
The short version:One of the first sites to cover the European startup ecosystem, and still one of the most important.
The long version: What started in 2010 as a side project has since become a leading platform for startup-specific coverage in Europe. Besides its popular podcast, news coverage, and listicles, EU Startups hosts the EU-Startups Summit every May—and recently relocated the event from sunny Barcelona to even sunnier Malta. True to form, EU-Startups’ founder Thomas Ohr exited in 2025, and the company joined the MeOut Group. Ohr and his team, however, stayed on the masthead to continue driving the outlet’s editorial vision.
Learn more: We spoke with former Head of News Stefano De Marzo for Runway here, and in anticipation of this year’s EU Startups Summit, we’ll be speaking with current News Editor David Cendon. Stay tuned!
Startups Magazine
The short version: Rock-solid coverage of the European startup scene—in print!
The long version: Believe it or not, Black Unicorn PR’s founders attended the Startups Magazine launch event in 2018—a different century in tech media years. Founded in pre-Brexit London, Startups Magazine is suffused with British identity but enthusiastically covers continental Europe and even publishes a print edition! Under editor-in-chief Anna Wood, the magazine combines straight reporting with analysis and commentary. It has built a loyal multimedia audience through its newsletter and podcast, the Cereal Entrepreneur. Post-Brexit, Startups Magazine has maintained steady coverage of European founders, funding, and trends from across the region.
Tech Funding News
The short version: The new kid on the block, comparatively speaking, but very much a contender.
The long version: News is the central focus of TFN, but not the only one. Under the leadership of former UKTN and Silicon Canals editor-in-chief Akansha Dimri, Tech Funding News is now one of the fastest-rising European tech media outlets. Dimri and company have built a loyal following and diversified their coverage and analysis, extending beyond Europe to cover startups in other regions and putting additional emphasis on diversity.
The Next Web
The short version: A behemoth that came back from the dead.
The long version: Meet the phoenix of tech media. The Next Web is a brand with an enormous legacy, having covered the most exciting technology from the continent and hosted the well-attended TNW Summit in Amsterdam. Under the FT brand, it coexisted with then-sister publication Sifted, focusing less on the business of startups and more on the technology side. In 2025, the company announced it would wind down its media operations and focus solely on physical coworking in Amsterdam. Much to everyone’s surprise, The Next Web found a buyer just months later, and started publishing again. The new TNW is pivoting away from its original casual Dutch style, going so far as to relocate its flagship event to London. How will it work? Worth keeping an eye out!
THE NEW MEDIA
Here’s where it really gets interesting. The new media world of tech is built on smaller teams and targeted niches—and by total newbies alongside journalists who cut their teeth at major publications like TNW and TechCrunch.
Resilience Media
The short version: A publication focused entirely on tech for a ‘resilient’ world: defence, energy, and hard power.
The long version: Staffed almost entirely by ex-TechCrunch reporters, Resilience Media is mostly concerned with global challenges around defence, energy, and hard power. (The masthead speaks for itself, really: Natasha Lomas, John Biggs, Jonathan Shieber, Carly Page and Paul Sawers.) The London-based independent publication positions itself as “the only platform where the military and national security community communicate with the venture capital ecosystem.” Although it’s technically global in scope, Resilience Media specifically covers the European defence space better than most.
Pathfounders
The short version: Mike Butcher’s thoughtful, Europe-centric next act.
The long version: Led by former TechCrunch Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher, Pathfounders is highly journalistic, thoughtful, and explicitly European in worldview. Butcher describes Pathfounders as “a new tech media brand to offer informed reporting, analysis, and opinion on the top tech startups and VC firms across Europe, Silicon Valley, and globally.” Mike leads a great team stacked with former Sifted and Digital Frontier journalists. Besides its main-event newsletter, Pathfounders also hosts a podcast and tells us there is even more planned for 2026.
Learn more: Mike was recently interviewed by Unzip Media, including about Pathfounders. Check it out here and below!
Fun fact: Our founder JJ interviewed Mike a few years ago. Get his tips for PRs here.
etn
The short version: Europe’s answer to The Best Podcast Network.
The long version: The European Technology Network (etn) raised £150,000 at a valuation of over £1 million—all before launching its website. The mission? To build “the technology show for Europe.” The outlet now streams live on X and YouTube from 11 am-2 pm GMT, offering real-time tech news and commentary. Founded by former Salesforce and Rockpool employees with a passion for startups, and backed by notable European angels, etn’s live model aims to be unfiltered enough to appeal to the generation raised on podcasts and YouTube rather than traditional tech blogs. Catch them at the big European tech events doing interview marathons!
Scaling Europe
The short version: Pan-European newsletter, LinkedIn, podcast triad.
The long version: Started by ex-Deel employee Seb Johnson, Scaling Europe’s newsletter, LinkedIn, and podcast cover European tech with deep dives into individual startup stories and their founders. Like etn, Seb travels from event to event doing live interviews, and no doubt bumps into etn’s hosts along the way. All in all, it’s a pan-European, pragmatic and growth-oriented model of coverage. Did we say Seb is clearly in Team Europe?
To learn more, check out his chat with Andrii Degeler on Unzip Media.
Dealroom News
The short version: One of the more interesting emerging hybrids in the style of Crunchbase and Pitchbook that squeezes more juice out of Dealroom’s VC data treasure.
The long version: Dealroom News is an almost brand-new initiative, with Andrii Degeler (behind Unzip Media, ex-TNW, ex-Tech.eu) at the helm. It’s data-driven and analysis-heavy, making it a genuinely useful and smart extension of the Dealroom platform rather than just another vanity blog. The news vertical provides an interesting platform that primarily links to other media outlets, but Andrii’s analysis and data crunching is the real focus here. We’re excited to see how it develops.
Impact Loop
The short version:Measured coverage of climate and energy tech with a distinctly Nordic sensibility.
The long version: Impact Loop provides serious, long-term coverage about the entrepreneurs and investors tackling the planet’s biggest environmental and social challenges. It spotlights companies aligned with the UN’s sustainable development goals, interviewing game-changers, and analysing the latest trends. Initially founded in 2023 in Sweden (and in Swedish), Impact Loop’s international English-language vertical launched in 2024. Impact Loop is a bulwark against the otherwise diminishing coverage of climate and sustainability in startup publications. Siôn Geschwindt, formerly of TNW, is Managing Editor.
GONE (OR EFFECTIVELY GONE?)
Silicon Canals
What happened here? Silicon Canals built a strong reputation at the European level. Although its new owners gave the impression that it would continue with the same editorial direction, commentators were appalled to find the site had become a dumping ground of AI slop. A reminder that reputable brands can lose it all after exiting to traffic hacks.
TechCrunch
Still relevant to Europe, and still a giant, but increasingly US-centric. Most European correspondents are gone, and while European tech still figures in their coverage, things just aren’t the same. Gutting its European vertical garnered strong reactions and may have birthed many smaller media experiments: former staffers founded Pathfounders (Mike Butcher) and Resilience Media (Natasha Lomas, Paul Sawers). Its retreat even made room for newcomers like etn.
Digital Frontier
Digital Frontier, a tech-focused publication that launched in early 2024, announced in July 2025 that it would “pause” publication. The entire 16-person staff was laid off as the outlet took a “step back” to “reassess” its next moves. It was a brutal blow to a publication that had shown promise with features like “Anatomy of a Founder” and a unique concept that sought to bring us back to the golden days of physical magazines. Its founder, Rich Hewes, had been inspired by the early days of WIRED. Maybe he’ll manage it with his next magazine?
For a more comprehensive list of media outlets, including those looking also at national ecosystems, check out our blog post (from February 2025): Your Definitive Guide to European Startup Media.
