Is X still worth it for business? ETN is betting it is

X, known as Twitter before Elon Musk bought it in 2022, represents an overlooked opportunity for businesses, says one UK tech start-up.

European Technology Network (ETN) is an expanding and ambitious new media company, which aspires to mix tech news coverage with entertainment. Founded in 2025, ETN has so far raised £1.2m in a seed funding round from angel investors.

It thinks it has spotted a way to scale, with X forming the backbone of the strategy. It’s another example of a UK company finding creative ways to exposure, capital and routes to market.

The X factor

ETN has built a sophisticated TV-style set at a warehouse in north London. Its team of eight people film a three-hour live episode every weekday, from midday to 3pm, discussing tech developments. This includes interviews with influential CEOs, which are chopped into shorter video clips for promotion on social media channels, including X.

“Look, Mark Zuckerberg recently came back to X to launch his new AI product [Meta's Muse Spark 1.1 model], even though he owns rival Threads,” points out Alexander Best, chief of staff at ETN.

John Ternus has been posting on X too, to mark his new CEO role at Apple, he adds. These are signs of the platform’s reach, argues Best, especially in the world of business and tech, where ETN’s core audience lives.

The set is fitted out with cameras and mics to accommodate two hosts, the company’s co-founders Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers. New wide-angle cameras have also been added to show off its production team, who work in the same open-plan studio.

Recent guests include former UK deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, Amjad Masad, CEO of app-building platform Replit, and Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf. Guests either join by video link or come into the studio.

A social media producer also monitors breaking tech news, ready to post relevant content quickly.

A different business model

Dedicated tech news sites like TechCrunch have struggled because they were partially behind a paywall, says Best. “They made their money from their audience, whereas we make our money from sponsors.”

ETN’s approach is different. It is video-first and uses X as the backbone of its proposition (though it is also simulcast on YouTube and LinkedIn). The three-hour live shows attract only around 1,000 viewers. “The real reach comes from the clips,” says Best.

A recent clip of Masad talking about AI leaders at frontier labs experiencing “AI psychosis” has attracted nearly 150,000 views. Another clip of Klarna chief marketing officer David Sandström pulled in more than 40,000 views.

All reach is organic rather than paid, according to Best. He revealed that just shy of 41 per cent of the network's viewers are C-suite and founders. 30.2 per cent of the audience is in Europe, 26.4 per cent in the UK and 20.3 per cent in the US.

The business has managed to attract sponsors like Airwallex, ElevenLabs, Polymarket and Framer. Their logos run on a ticker throughout the live broadcasts. The show’s big draw is getting in front of influential people in the tech world, especially in the US, says Best, and all thanks to the reach of X.

Is X due for a renaissance?

Many people and businesses stepped away from X after Elon Musk took over, in protest at what critics felt was becoming a toxic brand. A lack of regulation combined with the ability to post anonymously has made it notorious for trolling and rage-baiting.

But could it still be an unparalleled tool for reaching a global audience? That’s the bet ETN has made.