Why data centers are being built in places that are far hotter than ideal: https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

While Tesla and BYD dominated headlines in 2025, much of the world’s electrification happened outside the passenger car market. Electric rickshaws, motorcycles, and delivery vehicles became the primary entry point to EVs across South Asia and Africa https://restofworld.org/2025/ev-china-tesla-2025/

“Too much money fucked us, basically. We had all assumed that the game that we are playing is not about making profits. It's about just growth, growth, growth. Nobody sat me down and said, ‘This will all come crashing down.’” https://restofworld.org/2025/tiger-global-unicorn-investment-crash/

We mapped the world’s hottest data centers https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat? https://restofworld.org/2025/tiger-global-unicorn-investment-crash/

Data centers were pitched as engines of economic growth. In many places, they’re now testing power grids, water supplies, and public tolerance https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

The anti-Shein bandwagon gains momentum https://restofworld.org/2025/anti-shein-temu-backlash-latin-america/

Double your impact today. Support global tech journalism https://restofworld.org/donate/eoy2025-match/

Two paths for the electric vehicle https://restofworld.org/2025/ev-china-tesla-2025/

The boom in AI data centers is colliding with weak power grids, soaring energy demand, and growing local pushback. https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-data-centers-fallout/

Lawmakers across Latin America are pushing for “anti-Shein” bills, joining global efforts to rein in ultrafast fashion https://restofworld.org/2025/anti-shein-temu-backlash-latin-america/

LinkedIn job scams have become a borderless epidemic, preying on the hopes of desperate job seekers and costing victims across the globe anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $25,000 https://restofworld.org/2025/linkedin-job-scams/

In 2025, we used charts to help visualize the year’s biggest global tech stories, on topics as diverse as Tesla’s struggles, China’s rising EV dominance, the global AI race, data center spending, and the OnlyFans economy. Here are 10 of our favorites: restofworld.org/2025/charts-...

“Some of the easiest, most lucrative places for TikTok to make money were wealthy markets like the Gulf that were unburdened by Western norms about privacy, human rights, and democratic self-governance.” https://restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-saudi-uae-investors-us-ban/?utm_campaign=row-social

As the world races toward electrification, Chinese migrant workers are on the front lines of Indonesia’s nickel industry, often in grueling conditions far from home https://restofworld.org/2025/chinese-migrant-workers-indonesia-nickel-ev/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Weekend #longreads: Gaza Sky Geeks believed they could build the world's unlikeliest tech hub. Can the dream survive? https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1766941501

Google’s Flood Hub uses AI to deliver flood warnings five days in advance. The forecasts could be used by non-profits to deliver aid money even before disaster strikes https://restofworld.org/2025/google-flood-hub-cash-aid/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social

For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks was a model for how tech could transform the territory. In 2023, its office was blown to pieces by an Israeli airstrike. Now, it’s trying to rebuild https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Weekend #longreads: The green energy transition is coming at a steep cost to the workers driving it restofworld.org/2025/chinese-migrant-workers-indonesia-nickel-ev

Tens of thousands of Chinese migrant workers have gone to Indonesia to work in nickel for EV batteries, risking their safety to save money for a better life back home https://restofworld.org/2025/chinese-migrant-workers-indonesia-nickel-ev/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

The UAE’s AI strategy winds through Silicon Valley https://restofworld.org/2025/what-the-uae-is-doing-in-silicon-valley/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1766844361

The Chinese government is rolling out special two-way charging stations that allow parked EVs to send power back to the grid during peak demand periods https://restofworld.org/2025/china-electric-vehicle-bidirectional-charging/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

They thought engineering degrees would guarantee them jobs. AI has broken the illusion https://restofworld.org/2025/engineering-graduates-ai-job-losses/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1766792400

“I was the kid who learned coding in school, only to abandon it for writing stories about people who were building businesses by writing code.” https://restofworld.org/2025/vibe-coding-ai-app/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

AI is shaking up OnlyFans. Chatbots are replacing the Filipino workers who pretend to be models in DMs with fans, and AI-generated images are so realistic that they cannot be distinguished from real photos https://restofworld.org/2025/onlyfans-ai-dm-bots

Data centers were pitched as engines of growth. In many places, they’re now testing power grids, water supplies, and public tolerance https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-data-centers-fallout/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1766775544

The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat? https://restofworld.org/2025/tiger-global-unicorn-investment-crash/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

When Skype shut down, we asked readers to share how the video call company transformed their friendships, businesses, and love lives — for better or worse https://restofworld.org/2025/skype-shutting-down

“‘DeepSeek is more humane,’ my mother told me. ‘Doctors are more like machines.’” Why some patients — including our reporter's mom — are embracing AI chatbots, despite knowing that their advice may be flawed or even dangerous https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/

A Chinese battery company thought their new factory would be welcomed by a struggling Michigan town. Instead, locals attacked the company as a Communist Trojan horse https://restofworld.org/2025/gotion-ev-battery-us-expansion-backlash-michigan

Half of all new cars sold in China are now electric. BYD has overtaken Tesla globally and is expanding across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Our reporting on the global EV market in 2025: https://restofworld.org/2025/ev-china-tesla-2025/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

From scrollytelling and visual essays to faster pages and open-source tools for journalism, here’s what the Rest of World product team worked on in 2025 👇 https://restofworld.org/inside/rest-of-world-product-2025/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

Why I left Silicon Valley: Chinese tech workers talk about returning home https://restofworld.org/2025/chinese-tech-workers-leave-silicon-valley/

Weekend #longreads: Why did this man eat a battery? https://restofworld.org/2025/gotion-ev-battery-us-expansion-backlash-michigan?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1766358060

“We call it the ‘Love Boat,’” he said. “We spend more time with each other than with our own families, so we have formed strong bonds. We look out for one another.” A glimpse of life on Africa’s only undersea internet cable repair ship https://restofworld.org/2025/africa-internet-cable-repair-ship

For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks was a model for how tech could transform the territory. Just days after October 7, its office was blown to pieces by an Israeli airstrike. Now it’s trying to rebuild https://restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sky-geeks-bombing-rebuilding

Data center deals hit a record of more than $61 bln this year. At the same time, local pushback is growing, from Chile to Brazil to India, and even lawmakers are questioning if the massive subsidies and drain on resources are worth it. Read @restofworld.org coverage restofworld.org/2025/ai-data...

Data centers contain servers and other equipment that need large amounts of power and give off intense heat. Cooling all that raises costs, strains the electricity grid, and adds to emissions. So why do data centers keep being built in hot places? https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

“What older adults fear is not death. ‘I’ve lived long enough,’ they tell us. What they fear the most is loneliness.” AI robot dolls are helping South Korea’s seniors feel less alone https://restofworld.org/2025/korea-ai-robot-senior-care-hyodol/

Classes taught over WhatsApp and Facebook groups are helping freelancers and small business owners learn basic AI skills New: restofworld.org/2025/indian-...

Help us tell the global tech stories that matter https://restofworld.org/donate/eoy-2025/

To protect the local textile industry, lawmakers in Latin America are getting on the anti-Shein bandwagon New: restofworld.org/2025/anti-sh...

The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat? https://restofworld.org/2025/tiger-global-unicorn-investment-crash/

Find hot data centers near you https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

When billion-dollar startups collapse, how much are investors to blame? Read our new feature from @issielapowsky.bsky.social about Tiger Global’s risky business of chasing unicorns: restofworld.org/2025/tiger-g...

The demand for AI and a push for data sovereignty mean that data centers are being built in some of the most inhospitable spots that need massive investments in cooling systems https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

The world’s data centers are being built in very hot places. We mapped them New: https://restofworld.org/2025/data-center-heat-map/

“Everyone is so panicked”: Entry-level tech workers describe the AI-fueled jobpocalypse https://restofworld.org/2025/engineering-graduates-ai-job-losses

“I believe returning to China was the most correct decision in my life.” Chinese tech workers talk about leaving Silicon Valley https://restofworld.org/2025/chinese-tech-workers-leave-silicon-valley

Do you know what it's like to own an electric car? Take the quiz: restofworld.org/2025/ev-driv...