• Robbyant Open Sources LingBot World: a Real Time World Model for Interactive Simulation and Embodied AI

    January 31, 2026

    Robbyant, the embodied AI unit inside Ant Group, has open sourced LingBot-World, a large scale world model that turns video generation into an interactive simulator for embodied agents, autonomous driving and games. The system is designed to render controllable environments with high visual fidelity, strong dynamics and long temporal horizons, while staying responsive enough for real time control. From text to video to text to world Most text to video models generate short clips that look realistic but behave like passive movies. They do not model how actions change the environment over time. LingBot-World is built instead as an action…

  • The best cheap VPN in 2026

    January 31, 2026

    When talking about the best VPNs, I frequently warn about the dangers of trusting free VPNs without verifying them. Although there are a few free VPNs worth recommending, many other free providers are ineffective, malicious or looking to profit off their users (or sometimes all three). Even the best free VPNs work a lot better once you subscribe and access their full service. This can be frustrating if you want to enjoy the benefits of a VPN but don’t have the budget for yet another subscription. To help you out, I put together a list of the best paid VPN…

  • a16z partner Kofi Ampadu to leave firm after TxO program pause

    January 31, 2026

    Kofi Ampadu, the partner at a16z who led the firm’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, has left the firm, according to an email he sent to staff that TechCrunch obtained. This comes months after the firm paused TxO and laid off most of its staff. “During my time at the firm, I was deeply grateful for the opportunity and the trust to lead this work,” Ampadu wrote in the email, sent Friday afternoon, with the subject line “Closing My a16z Chapter.” “Identifying out-of-network entrepreneurs and supporting them as they sharpened their ideas, raised capital, and grew into confident…

  • Save up to 81 percent on ExpressVPN two-year plans right now

    January 31, 2026

    If you’re looking to up your privacy game on the internet in the new year, you can do so for a little less than usual thanks to ExpressVPN’s latest deal. Its two-year plans are up to 81 percent off right now: the Advanced tier is on sale for $88 for two years, plus four additional free months. The Basic plan is where you’ll see the biggest discount: it’s $68 for two years, plus the same four additional free months. We’ve consistently liked ExpressVPN because it’s fast, easy to use and widely available across a large global server network. In fact,…

  • Physical Intelligence, Stripe veteran Lachy Groom’s latest bet, is building Silicon Valley’s buzziest robot brains

    January 31, 2026

    From the street, the only indication I’ve found Physical Intelligence’s headquarters in San Francisco is a pi symbol that’s a slightly different color than the rest of the door. When I walk in, I’m immediately confronted with activity. There’s no reception desk, no gleaming logo in fluorescent lights. Inside, the space is a giant concrete box made slightly less austere by a haphazard sprawl of long blonde-wood tables. Some are clearly meant for lunch, dotted with Girl Scout cookie boxes, jars of Vegemite (someone here is Australian), and small wire baskets stuffed with one too many condiments. The rest of…

  • Sonos home theater gear is up to 20 percent off ahead of Super Bowl LX

    January 30, 2026

    Like many other companies during Super Bowl season, Sonos is discounting its home theater gear. Today, you can save $130 on the Beam (Gen 2) soundbar, bringing its price down to $369. You’ll also find deals on the flagship Arc Ultra Soundbar, Sonos subwoofers, and more. The Sonos Beam is the company’s sub-$500 soundbar. Engadget’s pick for the best midrange model, the compact speaker has impressive sound for its size. Part of that is its Dolby Atmos support. Although the soundbar lacks upward-firing speakers, it uses software tricks to compensate. Audio timing and frequency adjustments make sound seem to come…

  • Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on the moon

    January 30, 2026

    Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin is pausing its space tourism flights for “no less than two years” in order to focus all of its resources on upcoming missions to the moon, the company announced Friday. The decision puts a temporary halt on a program that Blue Origin has been using to fly humans past the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of space, for the last five years. Blue Origin made the announcement just a few weeks ahead of the expected third launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket, which is slated for late February. The company had previously suggested it…

  • AI2 Releases SERA, Soft Verified Coding Agents Built with Supervised Training Only for Practical Repository Level Automation Workflows

    January 30, 2026

    Allen Institute for AI (AI2) Researchers introduce SERA, Soft Verified Efficient Repository Agents, as a coding agent family that aims to match much larger closed systems using only supervised training and synthetic trajectories. What is SERA? SERA is the first release in AI2’s Open Coding Agents series. The flagship model, SERA-32B, is built on the Qwen 3 32B architecture and is trained as a repository level coding agent. On SWE bench Verified at 32K context, SERA-32B reaches 49.5 percent resolve rate. At 64K context it reaches 54.2 percent. These numbers place it in the same performance band as open weight…

  • Hyundai to kill off its only ute early in anticipation of something bigger – report

    January 30, 2026

    Hyundai is reportedly planning to end production of the Santa Cruz early due to sluggish sales of the lifestyle ute. Sources have told Automotive News the original plan was for the ute to march off into the sunset during the second quarter of 2027, but the date is being moved forward. Additionally, the current production rate is being halved as Hyundai attempts to reduce the Santa Cruz’s high inventory levels. If the report is correct, it will free up capacity at Hyundai’s Alabama factory to produce more of the closely related Tucson SUV. In response, Hyundai USA told the trade…

  • The Galaxy S26 lineup and everything else we expect

    January 30, 2026

    Samsung’s 2025 was filled with new foldables, an ultra-thin new form factor and the launch of Google’s XR platform. After making some announcements at CES 2026, the company is expected to host its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year in February to introduce the Galaxy S26 lineup. Engadget will be covering Galaxy Unpacked live, and we’ll most likely have hands-on coverage of Samsung’s new smartphones soon after they’re announced. While we wait for an official invite, here’s everything we expect Samsung will introduce at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026. What is Unpacked 2026 taking place? But first, when…