Wired
A technology and culture media brand reporting on how science and technology reshape business, politics, society, and everyday life.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Wired is an American technology and culture media brand whose print magazine and digital publications examine the influence of science and technology on society. It was founded in 1993 by Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, with early editorial leadership from Kevin Kelly. From its beginning, the publication treated technology not simply as a specialist subject but as a force affecting economics, politics, design, culture, and human behavior. That editorial approach helped distinguish Wired from conventional computer magazines and made it an influential interpreter of the emerging internet age. The brand began as a San Francisco-based magazine during a period when personal computing, networking, and online communications were moving from specialist communities into mainstream life. Its early design, visual language, and enthusiasm for technological change became closely associated with the digital culture of the 1990s. Wired’s reporting and essays have covered subjects including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate technology, biotechnology, space, transportation, consumer electronics, internet platforms, digital rights, business strategy, and the social consequences of innovation. Alongside news, it publishes investigations, profiles, explanatory journalism, reviews, service features, opinion, and long-form narrative work. Wired developed a significant digital presence as web publishing became central to magazine media. The website expanded the brand beyond a monthly print schedule and allowed it to cover rapidly developing technology news, product and platform changes, scientific research, online culture, and breaking business stories. The brand also operates internationally through licensed or locally produced editions and editions associated with markets including the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, India, and Brazil. International editions adapt the Wired editorial concept to local technology industries and cultural contexts rather than functioning only as translations of the American magazine. Condé Nast acquired Wired magazine in 1998 through its parent company, Advance Publications, and later brought the brand into its broader portfolio of media properties. Wired remains a Condé Nast brand with print, web, video, audio, events, newsletters, and other digital products. Its business model has therefore developed from a traditional magazine operation into a multi-format media franchise supported by subscriptions, advertising, licensing, branded experiences, and digital audience products. Specific financial results are not included here because reliable brand-level figures and comparable reporting periods were not supplied. Wired’s editorial positioning is generally future-oriented but is not limited to technological optimism. Its coverage also addresses surveillance, labor displacement, misinformation, concentration of power, environmental costs, algorithmic discrimination, and the political responsibilities of technology companies. The brand’s continuing relevance comes from connecting technical developments with wider public consequences. It is best understood as a media and publishing brand rather than a technology manufacturer or product company.
History
Wired emerged in San Francisco in 1993 at the intersection of magazine publishing, personal computing, and the growing culture of computer networking. Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe founded the publication, while Kevin Kelly helped establish its early editorial identity. Rather than presenting technology as a narrow engineering or consumer-electronics beat, the magazine treated it as a broad cultural and economic system. Its early issues connected computers, telecommunications, design, music, politics, entrepreneurship, and changing forms of social organization. The publication’s visual identity was unusually important to its early reputation. Bold typography, saturated colors, experimental layouts, and a willingness to combine technical subjects with cultural criticism helped it appeal beyond the traditional computer-magazine audience. Wired became associated with the optimism of the early internet era and with arguments that networked technologies would alter institutions, markets, and everyday life. That approach also made the magazine a reference point for the technology industry and for readers interested in the consequences of digital change. The corporate history of the brand changed during the late 1990s. Wired Ventures, the company behind the magazine, sold the publication to Advance Publications in 1998. The magazine subsequently became part of Condé Nast, Advance’s publishing subsidiary. Ownership by a large magazine group gave Wired access to established publishing infrastructure while preserving its distinct editorial identity. The original Wired Ventures business and the later Condé Nast magazine brand should not be treated as identical corporate entities, even though they are part of the same brand history. During the 2000s and 2010s, Wired expanded its digital journalism as broadband internet, search, social networks, smartphones, cloud computing, and online advertising transformed the media industry. WIRED.com developed into a continuous publishing operation covering breaking news, investigations, science, business, security, consumer technology, culture, and long-form features. The brand also added or expanded newsletters, podcasts, video, events, subscriptions, and other audience products. Its international footprint grew through editions and partnerships in multiple countries, allowing the Wired editorial model to be adapted to local technology ecosystems. Editorial leadership changed several times as the publication moved from a primarily print-centered magazine to a multi-platform media operation. Chris Anderson led the magazine during a period that included the expansion of digital culture and the publication’s growing influence on technology-business debates. Scott Dadich continued the development of print and digital presentation, followed by Nicholas Thompson and Gideon Lichfield. Katie Drummond became global editorial director, a role reflecting the brand’s international and cross-platform structure. Wired’s subject matter has broadened with the technology industry itself. Early coverage focused heavily on computing, the internet, and digital culture; later reporting increasingly addressed platform power, artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, biotechnology, climate change, automation, space, transportation, public policy, and the social effects of algorithmic systems. The publication retains a reputation for looking ahead, but its journalism also examines the failures and external costs of technological systems. This combination of enthusiasm, skepticism, and contextual reporting remains central to the brand’s identity. Today, Wired operates as an active Condé Nast media brand. Its principal public-facing products are the print magazine and WIRED.com, supported by digital subscriptions, newsletters, audio, video, events, licensing, and international editions. It is not a technology product manufacturer; its core asset is editorial authority and a recognizable interpretation of the relationship between technology and society.
- 2021
Katie Drummond becomes global editorial director
[2]Katie Drummond assumes global editorial leadership for Wired.
- 2017
Nicholas Thompson becomes editor-in-chief
[3]Nicholas Thompson takes over editorial leadership as Wired continues emphasizing digital journalism and technology’s public consequences.
- 2006
Condé Nast ownership is consolidated
[3]Wired is incorporated into Condé Nast’s magazine portfolio under Advance Publications.
- 2001
Chris Anderson becomes editor-in-chief
[3]Chris Anderson begins a long editorial leadership period during which Wired expands its influence across technology, business, and digital culture.
- 1998
Advance Publications acquires the magazine
[3]Advance Publications acquires Wired magazine from Wired Ventures, beginning its transition into the Condé Nast publishing portfolio.
- 1993
Wired launches
[3]Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe launch Wired in San Francisco, with Kevin Kelly helping shape its founding editorial direction.
Products and positioning
A high-profile technology and culture publication that combines explanatory journalism, investigative reporting, science coverage, business analysis, design, and commentary on the social and political consequences of innovation.
Print magazine · 1993
Wired magazine
The flagship print publication covering technology, science, business, culture, design, and politics. The magazine is known for combining reported features, investigations, profiles, reviews, and visual design with analysis of broader social consequences.
Digital publishing
WIRED.com
The brand’s continuously updated website, publishing news, analysis, investigations, explanatory journalism, reviews, science reporting, security coverage, and culture features. It extends the magazine’s editorial scope to faster-moving subjects and digital formats.
International publishing
Wired international editions
Locally produced or licensed editions that apply the Wired editorial concept to technology, science, business, and culture in individual national markets. Editions have operated in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, India, and Brazil.
Subscription media
Wired digital subscriptions and newsletters
Digital audience products that provide recurring access to Wired journalism and curated editorial updates. They support the brand’s shift from a print-only publishing model toward a subscription-supported, multi-format media business.
Controversies
2026
Condé Nast data breach exposes over 2.3 million Wired user records
Condé Nast suffered a data breach in which more than 2.3 million user records from Wired were released, including names, emails, addresses and phone numbers but no passwords. A hacker named Lovely claimed Condé Nast did not care about user data security and threatened to leak more than 40 million additional records over the coming weeks.
Brand decisions
1998
Sale of Wired magazine to Advance PublicationsM&ABackground
Wired Ventures separated the magazine from its original corporate structure during a period of rapid change in internet media and technology publishing.
Action taken
Advance Publications acquired the magazine, which subsequently operated within the Condé Nast publishing group.
Aftermath
The transaction established the ownership structure under which Wired developed into a long-running Condé Nast print and digital media brand.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Condé Nast data breach exposes over 2.3 million Wired user records[5]
Condé Nast suffered a data breach in which more than 2.3 million user records from Wired were released, including names, emails, addresses and phone numbers but no passwords. A hacker named Lovely claimed Condé Nast did not care about user data security and threatened to leak more than 40 million additional records over the coming weeks.
Reported
Wired appoints Gideon Lichfield as Global Editorial Director[6]
Wired announced Gideon Lichfield's appointment as Global Editorial Director; the appointment takes effect on March 22.
Reported
WIRED opens first permanent standalone airport store[7]
WIRED opened its first permanent standalone store at Newark Liberty International Airport, selling electronics, tech accessories and copies of the magazine. The store was activated by Stellar Partners and Condé Nast.
Sources7 sources
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