Timef 07/16/2025

Former Waymo engineers have launched an autonomous vehicle startup with $80 million in venture funds.

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. 2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership […]

A complete list of all the known layoffs in tech, from Big Tech to startups, broken down by month throughout 2024.

The troubled EV startup, its founder, and the founders nephew are all in the financial regulator's crosshairs.

The transit software company, is finally taking the step into public markets with an IPO after abandoning the idea in 2021.

These WIRED-tested indoor and outdoor air-quality monitors have been teaching us things about our air quality we can never unsee.

Spurred by the performance of its first fund, Cambrian Ventures' $20 million second fund will continue the firm's thesis of focusing on fintech startups.

The Apple iPad, 11-inch (A16, WiFi, 128GB) is on sale at Amazon for $299, down from the list price of $349. That's a 14% discount.

London-based Seabound has developed a carbon capture system that transforms CO2 from a ship's engine into limestone, which Heidelberg Materials will use to make cement.

Scammers use number porting to take control of outdated landlines still connected to financial accounts, bypassing two-factor authentication to steal funds while avoiding detection.

Razer’s haptic gaming cushion can make your favorite virtual worlds feel real, if you don’t mind the uncomfy seat.

The fifth and final season of "Stranger Things" premieres Nov. 26 on Netflix. If this teaser is anything to go by, Hawkins is in trouble.

The hackers stole the company's member list, which included customer names, addresses, and contact information.

OpenAI researcher Jason Wei will reportedly join Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab. Another team member, Hyung Won Chung, might also join Meta, as the company works to catch up to rivals in the AGI race.

The mission? Teaching models to better understand how to build code will lead to superintelligent AI.

Connections: Sports Edition is a New York Times word game about finding common sports threads between words. How to solve the puzzle.

Whether you’re hiking, tailgating, or relaxing in the garden, take the weight off in style with these WIRED-tested chairs for the great outdoors.

Third time’s a charm for this elegantly designed and sonically refined Bluetooth speaker.

You can finally put down 'Mario Kart World' for a while because 'Donkey Kong Bananza' is a heck of a lot of fun.

I test sleep products for a living and my favorite cooling sheets are silky, thick, durable, and priced below $100 on Amazon.

With the app Substage, users can type out file management tasks in plain English, then use the commands it generates to convert file types, manage folders, create zip files, and more.

For her new book, journalist Carter Sherman interviewed over 100 young people about why they’re not having sex. She says they’re “very horny” but also more isolated, self-conscious, and fearful.

Phone calls in restaurants are becoming the norm. It's time to discuss phone call etiquette at the table.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is now just $274.99 on Amazon — its lowest price yet for 16-core power & 4.9GHz speeds

America's One Big Beautiful Bill is going to make buying electric rides more expensive—so the clock is ticking to bag a bargain.

Stephen Colbert and Joaquin Phoenix spent the last minute of their "Late Show" interview in awkward silence. It's great.

There’s more than one king size in the mattress world. Our sleep expert helps parse which one might fit your needs.

Megan Stalter's "Late Show" interview is one of the most gloriously chaotic things you'll see online today.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey developed Bitchat, a privacy-focused messaging app that works offline via Bluetooth without requiring email, phone numbers or personal data.

Researchers warned that Chinese residents, and visitors to China, should be aware of the tool's existence and the risks it poses.

The best Fire Stick deal. Save 30% on the Amazon Fire Stick 4K.

The Lmcpa Switch 2 hard shell case is just $12.99 at Amazon — 50% off one of the best third-party cases.

LIGO astronomers have detected the most massive black hole merger yet from gravitational waves. The discovery challenges existing theories.

How to get free books on Stuff Your Kindle Day. Download free science fiction and dystopia books on the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day.

Teens turn to platforms like Character.AI, Replika, and Talkie for AI companions.

See the sun, moon, and stars from your phone with Hestia, the first smartphone-based telescope, now for $259.99 (reg. $299).

If you want to make reading part of your daily routine, look no further than Headway, the app that breaks down titles into easy, 15-minute reads or audio for just $48 for life with code READ20.

Make screen time healthy and educational for your kids with games from Pok Pok, now less than $60 for lifetime access.

PDF Expert for Mac is on sale for only $79.97 (reg. $139.99). Get lifetime access to editing, signing, merging, converting, and OCR tools — all without recurring fees.

We sat down with Dr. Alok Kanojia to hear how he started Healthy Gamer, growing his audience, and how he keeps his tank full to avoid burnout.

Staged police bodycam videos are now slipping into the YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook algorithms. We talked to the mystery creators behind these viral videos.

Tesla's recently expanded Robotaxi coverage in Austin comes with a new fare.

The brand-new 2025 MacBook Air 13-inch with M4 chip is on sale for $849.99 at Amazon.

Answers to each clue for the July 16, 2025 edition of NYT's The Mini crossword puzzle.

Own Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac for life — just $59.97 (reg. $219)

How to get free Lego. Build a Boombox model at participating stores and take it home with you for free.

How to watch Women's Euro 2025 for free. Live stream Norway vs. Italy in Women's Euro 2025 for free from anywhere in the world.

Hints and answers to today's Hurdle all in one place.

Jason Wei, who worked on OpenAI’s o3 and deep research models, will be joining Meta’s superintelligence lab. His colleague Hyung Won Chung is also joining Meta, a source tells WIRED.

Connections is a New York Times word game that's all about finding the "common threads between words." How to solve the puzzle.

The NYT Strands hints and answers you need to make the most of your puzzling experience.

Here's the answer for "Wordle" #1488 on July 16 as well as a few hints, tips, and clues to help you solve it yourself.

xAI's first AI companions on the Grok app are a lustful anime girl and a homicidal panda.

xAI's new $300 monthly subscription comes with two AI companions powered by its most capable model to date. I tried them. It got weird.

The fund brings Mantis' assets under management to $225 million.

Amazon is looking to its main competitor to get its next batch of Kuiper satellites to orbit.

Mira Murati and several other former OpenAI researchers are behind the buzzy AI startup, now valued at $12 billion and officially out of stealth.

Trump administration officials say winning the artificial intelligence race with China is a top priority.

Cameron Wagenius had already pleaded guilty to other charges earlier this year.

Find out how to watch "How to Train Your Dragon" at home, including when it will be streaming and where.

The Nothing Headphone (1) is now available for $299 — our headphones expert takes you through their initial thoughts.

A senior engineer describes the thrill, chaos, and exhaustion of working at OpenAI this past year while launching its coding agent Codex.

The tech giant fixed the security flaw, netting a security researcher $10,000 for privately disclosing the bug.

Metadata from the “raw” Epstein prison video shows approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips. The cut starts right at the “missing minute.”

Pronto.ai CEO Anthony Levandowski said the move is meant to help bolster his company's ranks with like-minded talent and complimentary technology.

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati says that her new startup, Thinking Machines Lab, was valued at $12 billion in its seed round.

Cybernews detected a leak of screenshots shared with FlirtAI, an app that generates replies to dating app messages.

Facebook is cracking down on spammy, copycat accounts to boost original creators and clean up your Feed.

Funded by Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, the new bank—named, like their companies, after Tolkien lore—aims to serve startups in crypto, AI, and defense.

WeTransfer says it won't use data to train AI models and updated the language of its terms of service after an earlier update that caused confusion and backlash.

As publishers fret about decreased traffic from Google, the search giant has begun rolling out AI summaries in Discover, the main news feed inside Google’s search app on iOS and Android. Now, instead of seeing a headline from a major publication, users will see multiple news publishers’ logos in the top-left corner, followed by an […]

Nextdoor launches a redesign aimed at making it an actually useful local resource.

According to new reports, the long-rumored iPhone fold could cost less than we expected.

Billy McFarland, the convicted criminal behind Fyre Festival, sold the rights to the infamous brand on eBay.

A new green energy system is set to change how we capture clean power, and it all starts with the ocean. French startup Seaturns has designed technology that taps into the natural motion of the sea.

Online safety for the whole family is easy with this lifetime AdGuard Family Plan, now just A$24 (reg. A$259) with code FAMPLAN through 7 September.

If you don't mind buying refurbished, you can score a Kindle Paperwhite for only $106.99 at Amazon post-Prime Day.

Lucid Motors joins the likes of Ford, General Motors, and Tesla in offering an advanced driver assistance system that allows for hands-free driving.

A coalition of Ukrainian hackers breached and wiped systems belonging to Gaskar Group, a Moscow-based drone maker.

For years, code-editing tools like Cursor, Windsurf, and GitHub’s Copilot have been the standard for AI-powered software development. But as agentic AI grows more powerful and vibe-coding takes off, a subtle shift has changed how AI systems are interacting with software. Instead of working on code, they’re increasingly interacting directly with the shell of whatever system they’re installed in. It’s a significant change in how AI-powered software development happens – and despite the low profile, it could have significant implications for where the field goes from here.

The Eufy E28 Omni is one of the best robot vacuums for carpets because it comes with a handheld carpet cleaner. Get it for under $800.

As of July 15, get the Roku Streaming Stick HD for just $19 at Amazon.

The GoPro Hero12 Black is on sale at Amazon for $279, down from the standard price of $369. That's a 25% discount.

Research leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind are urging tech companies and research groups to monitor AI's "thoughts."

The firm will look to invest $500,000 to $4 million in 15-20 seed and Series A companies in the healthcare, climate, consumer, and community sectors.

As of July 15, these deals on Apple products are still available past Prime Day.

As of July 15, get the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 for the lowest price we've seen.

The Shark AI Ultra Robot Vacuum with XL self-empty base is on sale at Amazon for $299.99, down from the list price of $649.99. That's a 54% discount.

Shop the best Samsung deals this week, including the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, Buds 3 Pro, Z Flip 7, and more.

AMC has expanded its popular Discount Tuesdays promo, now unlocking 50% off evening movie tickets two days per week.

Infamous DOGE employee Marko Elez allegedly published a private API key for a large number of xAI LLMs.

The first over-ear headphones from UK brand Nothing launched on July 15. Get a download on the $299 Nothing Headphone (1).

The new Tesla Oasis Supercharger features 11 megawatts of solar panels and 39 megawatt-hours of battery storage, making it one of the largest solar-powered EV stations worldwide.