Tom joins from Wired, where he led a team of reporters covering all things Silicon Valley, from big tech companies to groundbreaking startups. As Senior Business Editor, he helped reporters break stories on a wide range of topics, from how OpenAI signed a letter of intent to buy chips from CEO Sam Altman-backed AI companies to how robotaxis navigating the streets of San Francisco occasionally run over human drivers. Tom also commissioned an in-depth story revealing the surprising fate of a US-made Tesla car wrecked in eastern Ukraine and the harsh working conditions of contractors caught up in the collapsing scooter rental bubble, penning a piece with the memorable title “Blood, Guns, and Broken Scooters.” Tom also launched and edited Wired’s Fast Forward AI newsletter.
Prior to becoming an editor, Tom was a senior writer covering artificial intelligence at Wired. As a reporter, he wrote impactful stories like the text generator that took the video game community in an unsettling direction and the inside story of how ethical AI researcher Timnit Gebru was booted from Google. Tom also wrote the occasional entertaining feature, like a story about the quest for a drug that stops dogs from aging. Prior to Wired, Tom covered Silicon Valley for MIT Technology Review, a bimonthly publication featuring in-depth reporting on innovation. Tom is co-architect of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series, which aims to train 1,000 journalists to cover artificial intelligence and prioritize the Global South and other underrepresented communities.
Tom holds a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in the UK and a Masters in Science Communication from Imperial College London. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys cycling with his family and exploring the natural wonders of California.
