Rest of World - Reporting Global Tech Stories

What it takes to get an H-1B visa in Trump’s America

An immigration lawyer explains the behind-the-scenes challenges of getting the coveted U.S. visa in 2026.

A blue cartoon character with a round head and large eyes, wearing a lab coat and stethoscope, stands in front of a graph.

AI health care is taking off in China, led by Jack Ma’s Ant Group

Ant’s health chatbot has become a top downloaded app in China as users seek personalized care they can’t get from the overburdened hospitals.

By Viola Zhou

Global

Support Our Global Journalism

Nearly four billion Internet users live outside the West, building and using tech products & platforms that most Americans have never heard of.

By Rest of World Staff

A man in a suit is shown against a blue background, with a graphic design element overlaying part of the image.

Innovation

Meet UpScrolled, the anti-censorship TikTok alternative

The company's CEO says users are flooding the platform after the sale of TikTok in the U.S.

By Rina Chandran

Various spices are arranged on a bright orange background, labeled "Tangerine Peel," including dried fruit, cloves, and herbs.

Innovation

Beijing enlists AI to bring traditional Chinese medicine into the future

With backing from the Chinese government, TCM practitioners are integrating AI tools to reach new consumers at home and abroad.

By Nicole Fan

A vibrant pink lobster with large claws against a bold orange square and a blue dotted background. — iStock/Rest of World

Innovation

AI agent Moltbot makes waves in China and Silicon Valley

Chinese hyperscalers are selling special server packages to attract early adopters eager to test the latest AI agent–now known as OpenClaw.

By Viola Zhou

A world of tech in your inbox

Exclusive stories, on-the-ground reporting, and analysis from our global newsroom — twice a week, every week. See the full picture of how technology is shaping the world.

Editor's picks

2025

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2023

An artistic collage featuring three men's faces and a satellite dish, overlaid with text about Starlink terms and policies.

🏆 Society for News Design

A collage of images taken from a group on WhatsApp, showing a man holding a candle against a purple background. The images are set against a green background used on WhatsApp.

Inside the BJP's WhatsApp Machine

How India’s ruling party uses the app to campaign free from public scrutiny

May 14, 2024

A black and white illustration with aqua highlights showing a large protest being surveilled by CCTV cameras and a drone.

The changing face of protest

Mass protests used to offer safety in numbers. Facial recognition technology changes the equation

March 27, 2024

🏆 Society for News Design

A photo of a man sitting on a motorbike on a busy street in Lahore, Pakistan.

Riders in the Smog

After equipping gig riders across South Asia with pollution monitors, the readings were off the charts

February 27, 2024

An illustration showing emoji characters sitting on a blue text bubble laughing hysterically.

How different languages laugh online

Laughter is universal, but lol is not

December 18, 2023

🏆 National Magazine Award

A photo showing a cluster of Shein shipping bags laid out on a yellow background.

China, the World's Shopping Cart

E-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu are going global with big ambitions

November 14, 2023

🏆 National Magazine Award

A photo collage showing a grid of square images with portraits of people, exteriors of buildings, city streets, and plates of food.

How AI is reducing the World to Stereotypes

3,000 AI images analyzed to show how image generators see cultures

October 10, 2023

🏆 Online Journalism Award

40 Companies Beating the West

Faster, smarter, more adaptable: The emerging market pioneers outmaneuvering Silicon Valley

October 5, 2023

🏆 National Magazine Award

A photo of a woman with red hair drinking from a cup with a straw while seated at a computer in an internet cafe.

Inside the World's last internet cafes

Documenting them before they vanish

July 25, 2023

Welcome to the Ambaniverse

It's Mukesh Ambani's world — we're just living in it

November 15, 2022

🏆 Society for News Design

Chinese citizens use puns to get past internet censors

Chinese social media companies and users are locked in a never-ending battle

October 11, 2022

🏆 Society for News Design

How to Buy

E-commerce isn't the same around the globe

May 31, 2022

In the dark

60 countries, 935 internet shutdowns: How authoritarian regimes found an off switch for dissent

April 26, 2022

🏆 Society for News Design

“I need to rethink my future”: Tech professionals on how they’re coping with Trump’s rapidly shifting immigration changes

Many immigrants are concerned about the impacts of changing policies and anti-immigration rhetoric.

By Rest of World Staff

Charts

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28 January 2026

How Ant Afu compares to other chatbots

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How Ant Afu compares to other chatbots
Conflict kills connectivity
Emerging tech roles in 2026
Unicorns are not so rare anymore
Average AI adoption rate across regions
AI adoption is increasing across the world
A brief history of Manus
MercadoLibre's stock price
BYD overall sales
BYD's profit growth rate
BYD annual revenue
BYD's R&D expenditure exceeds net profit

The world is trying to log off U.S. tech

What it takes to get an H-1B visa in Trump’s America

AI agent Moltbot makes waves in China and Silicon Valley

AI health care is taking off in China, led by Jack Ma’s Ant Group

Beijing enlists AI to bring traditional Chinese medicine into the future

India’s electric bus push has a deadly blind spot

Meet UpScrolled, the anti-censorship TikTok alternative

When war destroys the internet economy

Death of an Indian tech worker

While politicians shape U.S.-China relations, their families turn to the stock market

Is AI a bubble? Davos leaders say no

Iran’s internet blackout may become permanent, with access for elites only

What it takes to get an H-1B visa in Trump’s America

AI health care is taking off in China, led by Jack Ma’s Ant Group

Support Our Global Journalism

Meet UpScrolled, the anti-censorship TikTok alternative

Beijing enlists AI to bring traditional Chinese medicine into the future

AI agent Moltbot makes waves in China and Silicon Valley

A world of tech in your inbox

Death of an Indian tech worker

Is AI a bubble? Davos leaders say no

What will tech jobs look like in 2026?

India’s electric bus push has a deadly blind spot

China steers the Gulf’s driverless future as U.S. rivals stay home

Why the EU is ready to drop high tariffs on China-made EVs

Death of an Indian tech worker

Big bets and broken unicorns: Tiger Global’s rise and reckoning

When Musk joined Trump, countries rolled out the red carpet for Starlink

Microsoft, Google say their data centers create thousands of jobs. Their permit filings say otherwise

The metaverse is rewriting the rules of who can be a K-pop star

Malawi’s new farmhand: AI that speaks the local language

Indian WhatsApp tutors are teaching ordinary people how to use AI

Cheap and powerful AI campaigns target voters in India

H-1B to Plan B: India’s top tech talent looks beyond the U.S.

Six years, two presidents, and one app: TikTok’s U.S. saga explained

The “Anti-Shein” bandwagon gains momentum

The hidden Kenyan workers training China’s AI models

Editor's picks

After Musk joined Trump, countries rolled out the red carpet for Starlink

When the world connected on Skype

Digital Divinity

Inside the BJP's WhatsApp Machine

The changing face of protest

Riders in the Smog

How different languages laugh online

China, the World's Shopping Cart

How AI is reducing the World to Stereotypes

40 Companies Beating the West

Inside the World's last internet cafes

Welcome to the Ambaniverse

Chinese citizens use puns to get past internet censors

How to Buy

In the dark

The Global Gig Workers

Apple manufacturers moved from China to Vietnam. Now they’re desperate for workers

Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts

“I need to rethink my future”: Tech professionals on how they’re coping with Trump’s rapidly shifting immigration changes

My mom and Dr. DeepSeek

Grab built its own map in Southeast Asia, and is now going after Google

The global stakes of the U.S.-China AI rivalry

Charts

How Ant Afu compares to other chatbots

How Ant Afu compares to other chatbots

Conflict kills connectivity

Emerging tech roles in 2026

Unicorns are not so rare anymore

Average AI adoption rate across regions

AI adoption is increasing across the world

A brief history of Manus

MercadoLibre's stock price

BYD overall sales

BYD's profit growth rate

BYD annual revenue

BYD's R&D expenditure exceeds net profit

India’s electric bus push has a deadly blind spot

Death of an Indian tech worker

Is a billion dollars still cool?

AI agent Moltbot makes waves in China and Silicon Valley

AI health care is taking off in China, led by Jack Ma’s Ant Group

Beijing enlists AI to bring traditional Chinese medicine into the future