Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Jan. 18, 2026.

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Most popular stories on GeekWire

The Microsoft-OpenAI Files: Internal documents reveal the realities of AI’s defining alliance

Internal emails, texts, slide decks, and deposition testimony show how Microsoft went from being sidelined at OpenAI’s founding to wielding decisive influence over the AI lab that launched the generative AI era — and how that power is now being tested as OpenAI emerges as a platform company with leverage of its own. … Read More

Tech Moves: Amazon employee retiring after 20 years; former Oracle and Microsoft execs take new roles

A longtime leader for Fulfillment by Amazon retires and offers parting thoughts, while former executives with Oracle, Microsoft and LevelTen take new roles. … Read More

Seattle’s ORCA transit system gets major tech upgrade with new ‘Tap to Pay’ feature

Seattle’s ORCA transit system is rolling out an upgrade that will let riders pay fares by tapping their credit card or smartphone — no dedicated ORCA card required. … Read More

‘Wildly productive weekend’: Former Amazon exec’s vibe coding post sparks debate over viral AI tools

A weekend vibe-coding project by the startup leader and former Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO sparked debate over the speed, scalability, and real‑world value of increasingly popular AI development workflows. … Read More

Reports: Amazon’s latest layoffs could begin next week

Amazon laid off about 14,000 workers globally in October. … Read More

Meta laying off 331 workers in Washington state as part of broader cuts to Reality Labs division

The heaviest hit facility is the Reality Labs office in Redmond, followed by the Spring District office in Bellevue, according to a state filing. … Read More

Seattle startup that brings hedge fund investing capabilities to anyone raises $1.2M

The company aims to give everyday investors access to strategies traditionally reserved for hedge funds and ultra-wealthy clients. … Read More

The race to replace lithium: Seattle startup lands funding for salt-powered battery technology

Seattle startup Emerald Battery Labs raised just under $1.1 million in a pre-seed round to continue scaling its sodium-ion battery technology. … Read More

Tech Moves: Former Microsoft CVP joins Amazon; Chronus names CEO; REI hires AI leader

Amazon Quick Suite has a new vice president, Chronus named a CEO, Supio added to its C-suite, and REI got an AI lead, among other Seattle area tech moves. … Read More

Satya Nadella’s new metaphor for the AI Age: We are becoming ‘managers of infinite minds’

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella riffed on some famous lines from tech leaders past this week in an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and offered up his own trippy candidate to join the canon of computing metaphors.  Read More … Read More

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
A deep dive into Apple's AI strategy reset, as it prepares to announce a Gemini-powered personalized Siri next month and a reimagined chatbot-like Siri at WWDC  —  Apple shakes up its AI efforts with a Google partnership, management changes and two new versions of Siri.

Fresh information from a reliable Chinese tipster suggests the OnePlus 15T may play it safe with the cameras, reusing familiar hardware while focusing on performance gains and battery capacity in a compact flagship form factor.

The post OnePlus 15T leak spills details on a curious camera situation appeared first on Digital Trends.

This week on You Asked, we tackle some of the most common TV buying questions right now, from choosing between LG and Samsung’s latest OLEDs to which brands handle upscaling best. We also dig into whether Dolby Vision 2 is a reason to hold off on a new TV purchase, or if today’s high-end sets are already good enough.

The post You Asked: OLED decisions, upscaling truths, and Dolby Vision 2 appeared first on Digital Trends.

WhatsApp's upcoming group chat history sharing feature aims to eliminate confusion for newly added members by letting admins share up to 100 recent messages.

The post WhatsApp has begun testing a long-overdue group chat feature appeared first on Digital Trends.

Running old CD-ROM games on modern Windows isn't too hard if you know how to manage Windows' compatibility software. But what if you have a Linux desktop and don't want to leave your old Windows games behind?

Windows' built-in search has never really clicked for me. It’s often slower than I expect, mixes in results I didn’t ask for, and somehow still struggles to surface the exact file or app I’m thinking about. Over the years, I’ve tried to make peace with it, tweaking settings and changing habits, but I always end up feeling like I’m working around search instead of letting it work for me.

One of the biggest shows available to stream concluded in 2025, with a finale that sparked mixed reactions and criticism. But the reactions were not surprising, nor was the way the finale fell through.

Android has evolved by leaps and bounds since the early days, and as a result, dozens of helpful features are hiding all over the place. Whether you're a long-time user or just switched from the iPhone, here's a hidden feature I use daily that most people have forgotten even exists.

We all dream of having a perfectly organized home with a place for everything and everything in its place. Achieving that dream is harder than it seems, but I've found a techie solution that's extremely cheap and easy to set up.

In this Saturday Night Live sketch featuring this weekend’s host, Teyana Taylor, the Golden Globe winner plays one of several overly inquisitive students in a confidence class led by Ashley Padilla.

Padilla’s character explains she started teaching confidence after bombing a job interview, a seemingly simple confession that immediately sends the class spiraling. What begins as encouragement quickly devolves into an aggressive group interrogation, with Taylor, Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson, and Marcello Hernández fixating on every possible detail.

Naturally, the questions get unhinged fast. What was she wearing? Leather gloves and "nice leather pants." What was the job? Michelle Obama’s speechwriter. The room grows increasingly skeptical, especially after Padilla’s résumé comes into play, which proudly lists skills such as "do voices" and 9 years of experience as a Dolly Parton impersonator.

Asked to do the former, she does a questionable Yoda voice. Then, when asked to do the latter, she refuses as it's too close to the Yoda voice. Amazing stuff.

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A VPN hides your real IP address and connects you to a secure server in another location. It may not be the most honest way to watch sports, but it does often make it the cheapest. And as of Jan. 23, one of the best VPNs for streaming is running a winter sale that knocks the price down even further. There's just one catch.

ExpressVPN's winter sale lets you sign up for as low as $2.79 per month (Basic plan), which is 78% off its usual cost of $12.99. The catch is you'll have to commit to a two-year plan to score that price. The Standard tier is down to just $3.59 per month (reg. $13.99) and the Pro tier is down to $5.99 per month (reg. $19.99). As a bonus, when you sign up for two years, you'll get an extra four months for free.

The VPN's new tier pricing structure is a little confusing, but what it boils down to is the longer you commit, the cheaper the monthly price — especially during the sale.

With the NFC and AFC Championship games this weekend, and the Big Game coming in just a few weeks, it's a great time to lock in a VPN subscription. ExpressVPN, a top choice for uninterrupted streaming, essentially lets you watch NFL games for free (including the playoffs) by unblocking international streaming sites like Australia's 7plus from anywhere in the world.

ExpressVPN offers all the stuff you want in a VPN, including ad blocking, malware detection, and password management. But its ability to unlock streaming sites really sets it apart. It's usually a bit pricey compared to other options, but this winter sale knocks it down to a much more wallet-friendly price.

James Austin Johnson doing Donald Trump in Saturday Night Live’s cold open. Name a more iconic duo.

Or, depending on who you ask, a more overplayed one. Either way, Johnson’s Trump impression once again kicked off Saturday night with a brand-new fictional awards show: The Trumps.

The premise was exactly what it sounds like. Much like Trump’s being given the Nobel Peace Prize second-hand or FIFA creating an entire award just for him, the Trumps exist solely to celebrate Trump, by Trump, for Trump. Among the evening’s "prestigious" honors were Best Picture and Best Kiss, both of which Trump, unsurprisingly, won himself.

The biggest surprise came with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy, which — based on the title alone — you could probably guess went to Elon Musk (played by the always amazing Mike Myers).

There's a new trailer for the upcoming Super Mario movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and it confirms some beloved characters are joining the crew for its latest adventure. The trailer provides our first official look at Yoshi in the new movie, whose appearance was leaked back in the fall by a Pillsbury cookie box design. And, just as exciting, we also see Birdo in the mix. The trailer was released during Nintendo's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct.

The short event also confirmed that the movie is now in post-production. While a previous trailer set the release date at April 3, the movie is now scheduled to come out two days earlier, on April 1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie stars Chris Pratt voicing Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach and Charlie Day as Luigi, along with Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Benny Safdie (Bowser Jr.), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) and Brie Larson (Rosalina).

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.