A few months after launching Pathfounders, we’re adding something new.

In September, we will launch Pathfounders Network: a curated professional network connecting tech founders, investors and key players across European technology, linked to Silicon Valley.

Applications to join are open NOW at Pathfounders.com/network

If there’s one thing 18 years at TechCrunch taught me, it’s that Europe is far too fragmented.

If you’re building a startup in Europe, the chances are your network is too local.

A founder in Barcelona is unlikely to know there’s an investor in Helsinki who’d love their product. A London VC can easily miss what is happening in Warsaw. From London to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and beyond, there are strong technology communities all across Europe, but they still operate largely independently of one another. And networking at conferences doesn’t fix that.

Europe needs better connections with itself. And with Silicon Valley.

That’s why we’re launching Pathfounders Network: a curated online network for the people building and backing the next generation of technology companies, coupled with real tech journalism.

Pathfounders started as an independent European technology publication and events platform, covering startups, investment, AI, emerging technology and geopolitics.

We now have more than 7,000 active newsletter subscribers, a 43.09% newsletter open rate (better than the industry average), and more than 185,000 followers across Pathfounders and my social channels. Our social and newsletter audience has grown around 30% in the last quarter.

We’ve also been running in-person events: live mixers, panels, dinners and podcast events in London, Paris, Berlin and elsewhere. And in October, we’ll be running a two-day session with AI founders and investors on the ”Pathfounders Stage” at World Summit AI in Amsterdam.

We could just carry on publishing and running events, right?

We could also launch subscriptions, put some journalism behind a paywall, allow ‘subscribers’ to comment underneath articles and leave it at that.

But, I thought, surely we can be more creative than that?!

Why don’t we build something others can also use?

What if a technology publication could also help connect the people it was writing about?

The thing about Silicon Valley and the Bay Area is that it is incredibly connected.

You can drive up and down Highway 101 into San Francisco and down towards San Jose, and encounter the largest network in the US technology industry.

Europe’s ecosystems are much more disparate and separated. 

And just bumping into people at tech conferences doesn’t cut it. 

We need more connective tissue between these ecosystems if European tech is going to work better and, crucially, faster.

The problem is, many of the tools we use to stay connected are becoming less useful.

Useful WhatsApp conversations vanish beneath hundreds of messages. (Not to mention the random requests from people who now have your number…)

LinkedIn and X both increasingly mix valuable information with self-promotion, engagement-bait and AI-generated content.

They also lack useful community features. 

And traditional tech media is all very well, but it’s largely built for the one-way broadcasting of an earlier era.

Meanwhile, the loudest voices on social media may be useful signals, but the most interesting builders aren’t always the ones with the largest followings.

So where can you actually get real work done, when every LinkedIn Post reads like a press release?

There’s no barrier to entry on social media, which in many ways is good, but what if you want at least some kind of filter?

That’s why we’re launching Pathfounders Network as a high-quality, cross-border network built around useful participation, expertise and intelligent conversations.

Can a startup founder entering the German market find someone who has already done it? Can someone hiring a senior executive get a useful introduction? Can a Paris founder meet a London investor, or a Helsinki VC discover a company emerging in Warsaw? Can members travelling to the same conference find the people genuinely worth meeting? Can a European founder trying to break into the American market connect with someone who has already made that jump?

These are the kinds of questions we think The Network could help with.

Pathfounders Network will be curated. Verified. Relevant.

And it will be application-based.

We’re starting “founders first”. Investors and other key people from across the tech ecosystem will follow (but all can apply now).

Yes, we know we can’t recreate LinkedIn, X or all your WhatsApp groups. And we don't want to.

The idea is to create something that augments all those other networks. A place where people know there are guaranteed high-quality founders, investors and operators.

What Pathfounders can potentially provide is another layer running horizontally across those networks, connecting groups, cities and industries that would otherwise remain separated.

You might think of it as something like a curated version of LinkedIn for European tech. But, crucially, no algo to fight against or game.

There is a danger that, whenever people talk about strengthening “European” technology, the conversation becomes insular.

That isn't our intention either.

European startups operate in a global market. Many will raise money in the US. Many will sell there. Some will hire there. Others will compete directly with Silicon Valley companies, in Europe or abroad.

So one of the deliberate aims of Pathfounders Network will be creating stronger connections between Europe and Silicon Valley.

That won’t negate the ongoing conversation about ‘sovereign tech’, of course.

Members will be able to connect with relevant people, expertise and opportunities across Europe, and ask for practical help without being inundated by pitches from consultants.

There will be specific groups for conferences and cities. Many of us go to events like Slush, Web Summit, London Tech Week, VivaTech, and events in Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona and ask the same question: who’s around?

The Network should make that much easier.

Members will also hear about relevant things like hiring and events opportunities. And we will deliberately build connections inside Pathfounders Network between European members and Silicon Valley networks.

Other member benefits will include private briefings and conversations, live rooms and live streams, priority access to Pathfounders events, and partner benefits and offers.

The other, perhaps unusual, offering inside the Network will be journalism.

Pathfounders Network will feature independent journalism from Pathfounders writers, columnists, and contributors. We’re talking stories like:

• Demis Hassabis doesn’t just want to be chair of DeepMind, but wants out of Google altogether.
• Our topical podcasts on breaking stories like OpenAI hacking everyone.
• Or our deep dives into subjects, such as which companies want to take out Palantir in Europe.
• Plus you get regular contributions from me (Mike Butcher), as well as Amelia Isaacs , Senior Contributing Reporter; and regular columnists like Chris Stokel-Walker and Kit Eaton.
• And we plan to expand our contributions from the industry itself, taking columns from founders, investors and operators across the spectrum.

Members will receive Pathfounders reporting and alerts FIRST, with the opportunity to join discussions and briefings around what is happening. This model was first trialled at publications like Tortoise. We’re extending it further.

And if something interesting happens, we can put it into the Network immediately. Via the iOS and Android apps, members can get real-time alerts, discuss it, and, where useful, we can open a “live room” to talk about it.

Think of it, loosely, as a kind of European tech terminal on your phone: information, people and conversations in the same place, as they happen.

Members will get first access to Pathfounders journalism, and share it with their teams or networks, while the journalism will still be able to live freely (and, crucially, be indexed) on the web, with no paywall.

The point is for the journalism to make the Network more useful, not to stop journalism being shared.

Crucially, Pathfounders Network will get the journalism first, but it won’t be a place where journalists are ‘snooping’ on the community, as it will be run in a light-touch manner.

But there will also be an important distinction: Pathfounders Network membership and Pathfounders’ editorial operations remain separate. Membership does not guarantee editorial coverage, influence or preferential access to journalists.

Partners will be able to work with Pathfounders through member briefings, office hours, AMAs, webinars, reports, events, partner offers and other formats (See here for the full offering).

For partners, that means reaching a highly relevant audience in a much more intelligent way than conventional display advertising or event sponsorship.

For instance, a cloud provider, bank, or law firm might host a briefing on a topic. A partner might host a discussion around a curated report they’ve produced. Maybe they are launching a new service and want some high-quality feedback about it?

However, the point is not to fill the Network with service providers trying to sell things to founders. Partners will be invited only if what they offer is relevant and useful to members. 

Pathfounders Network will formally launch in September.

We are now accepting applications, focusing on founders, but anyone can apply from now.

Access will initially be free while we build the Network. Later, we expect to introduce relatively low monthly and annual subscriptions. Think a Netflix subscription, roughly.

The founding members will get a chance to shape the direction.

The idea is to contribute generously: share experience, make introductions and participate in good faith.

Founder applications for Pathfounders Network are now open at Pathfounders.com/network

Curated European technology network
Connect with leaders across Europe, relevant contacts, expertise and opportunities.

First access to Pathfounders journalism
Pathfounders journalism before it goes public.

Real-time alerts
Emerging companies, funding rounds, before newsletters.

Members-only briefings and conversations
Join private online sessions with key players.

Founder Requests
Ask the network for practical help.

Conference and city groups
Connect with members at conferences or cities.

In-person events, Priority access
Priority invitations or preferential pricing to Pathfounders Members events.

Funding, hiring and speaking opportunities
Insider information shared through the network.

Partner benefits and offers
Discounts, services and offers from Pathfounders partners.

NOT LinkedIn, X or WhatsApp
Relevance, useful participation and expertise. Privacy of your mobile number.

Member Briefings / Office Hours / AMAs
Example: "Scaling into the US: Lessons from 50 European founders" Hosted by e.g. Payment Provider, Cloud hosting provider, Bank, Law Firm

Member Offers / Partner Benefits Area
E.g.  Discounts on conferences etc

Curated Reports
Example "The State of European Defence AI"

Partner Marketplace
"Our Trusted Partners"

Webinar Slots
Share your experience with a highly engaged audience

Office hours
Offer 1:1 sessions and build trusted relationships

Thought Leadership
Sponsor research and insights that drive the conversation forward

Brand Visibility
Raise your profile in a trusted, curated community

Exclusive Events
Host or support private roundtables and briefings

Partner Offers
Provide member-only discounts and benefits

Long-term impact
Build your brand in the ecosystem