Japan Apps of the World 2 June 2023 The #1 rideshare app in Japan isn’t Uber, it’s a taxi app Go summons taxis and the company behind it is Japan's newest unicorn. By Sarah Hilton
Vietnam TikTok Domination 24 May 2023 Vietnam pressures TikTok to censor more content or face a ban In the U.S., TikTok is under scrutiny for perceived censorship. In Vietnam, the government wants the company to meddle more. By Lam Le
Indonesia Creators & Communities 19 May 2023 An influencer in Indonesia could go to jail for trying pork on TikTok Under the Muslim-majority country’s blasphemy laws, the TikToker faces up to five years in prison. By Aisyah Llewellyn
Indonesia Money 18 May 2023 A traveler’s dream: Cash-free payment systems link up across Southeast Asia From Bali to Bangkok, people are ditching cards for QR code payments. There’s a catch: For now, it’s for locals only. By Joan Aurelia Rumengan
Hong Kong 3 Minutes With 16 May 2023 This renewable energy startup helps companies decarbonize across the Pacific Bor Hung Chong from Nefin Group discusses green energy solutions beyond solar panels. By Yi-Ling Liu
Japan Ideas 15 May 2023 Japan’s sleepy tech scene is ready for a comeback After decades of slumber, the country that brought us bullet trains and Nintendo has mustered some momentum. By Roland Kelts
Vietnam The Platform Economy 8 May 2023 The Vietnamese military has a troll army and Facebook is its weapon Force 47 abuses Facebook's safety tools to silence government critics at home and anywhere in the world. By Danielle Keeton-Olsen
Japan Apps of the World 28 April 2023 Welcome to Line, Japan’s everything app 70% of Japanese people use the platform, for everything from booking vaccinations to trading securities. By Sam Byford
Indonesia TikTok Domination 25 April 2023 With its U.S. future in doubt, TikTok Shop is thriving in Indonesia TikTok Shop has caught fire in the app's second-biggest market. “This is truly the year of TikTok,” says one seller. By Aisyah Llewellyn
Philippines Labor 18 April 2023 The secret ingredient to hustle culture: A virtual assistant in the Philippines How the office grind is being outsourced from Silicon Valley to Manila. By Ashley Westerman
South KoreaVietnam Labor 12 April 2023 Samsung knowingly exposed workers to highly toxic chemicals, whistleblower claims In Vietnam, a key production base, a former safety officer alleges the factory also dumped chemicals into waterways. By Special Correspondent
Indonesia Innovation 30 March 2023 GPS collars are helping save Sumatra’s last wild elephants An NGO in Indonesia uses monitoring technology to track the gentle giants and prevent human-animal conflict. By Aisyah Llewellyn
Indonesia Labor 29 March 2023 The dangers of being a female rideshare driver in Jakarta Harassment by day, homework by night: In Jakarta, women take to the roads with grit, often out of desperation. By Joan Aurelia Rumengan and Muhammad Fadli
Japan Bento 🍱 16 March 2023 “Sushi terrorism”: Viral pranks have caused an all-out panic in Japan Twitter antics have led to three arrests, and fears over the end of the sushi train tradition. Here's how the terror escalated so fast. By Andrew Deck
ChinaIndiaMexicoMoroccoSingapore Global Tech Downturn 15 March 2023 How the global startup economy is reacting to SVB’s crash Entrepreneurs and investors in India, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, and China are worried about the fallout of the crisis on the funding and regulatory environment. By Nilesh Christopher, David I. Adeleke, Ee Ming Toh, Daniela Dib, José Luis Peñarredonda and Viola Zhou
Cambodia Politics 10 March 2023 Leaked law proposal would give Cambodia expanded powers to censor critics Rest of World has obtained a previously unseen draft of a new cybersecurity law that experts say is ripe for abuse. By Fiona Kelliher
Cambodia TikTok Domination 7 March 2023 TikTok’s viral monks are clashing with Buddhist authorities Superstar monks have built massive followings — but dancing, singing, and fame-seeking are all violations of the monastic code. By Fiona Kelliher and Cindy Liu
ChinaIndonesia Ideas 3 March 2023 How Chinese smartphones won the hearts (and wallets) of Indonesia Indonesians spend more time on their smartphones than anyone else. And 70% of those smartphones are Chinese. By William Yuen Yee
Indonesia TikTok Domination 27 February 2023 People on TikTok are paying elderly women to sit in stagnant mud for hours and cry The trend ran rampant in Indonesia until the government stepped in. By Aisyah Llewellyn
Japan Crypto’s Big Collapse 24 February 2023 Days after a promised refund, some FTX Japan users are still waiting for their money Some Japanese FTX customers are being told they're ineligible for withdrawals. By Andrew Deck
Japan Apps of the World 24 February 2023 Find a sauna, no sweat A new app promises to help you find Japan's hottest public baths. By Sarah Hilton
Taiwan Q & A 22 February 2023 Battery-swapping EVs are all the rage in Taiwan. Will it work abroad? Gogoro, the company that revolutionized EVs in Taiwan, is launching pilot projects from Korea to Germany. By Meaghan Tobin
Indonesia EV Revolution 21 February 2023 China is exporting its tiny EV obsession Wuling outsells the Tesla Model 3 in China. In Indonesia, EV buyers are flocking to it for lower-cost prestige. By Tonggo Simangunsong
Singapore 3 Minutes With 21 February 2023 Why Ion Mobility CEO James Chan is the anti-Musk The ambitious EV startup aims to design and produce original two-wheelers for Southeast Asia. By Sarah Hilton
Japan Labor 16 February 2023 This Japanese manga artist-turned-politician is taking on AI art Lawmakers have floated policy responses to protect artists, but some question whether they can follow through. By Andrew Deck
Singapore News 9 February 2023 The rocky rise of Bondee, the metaverse app taking Asia by storm The game has hooked young people, but its Chinese origins are stoking privacy fears. By Nicole Lim
Japan Labor 6 February 2023 Anime artists are panicking over Netflix’s AI experiment Background illustrators worry they’re being automated out of a job. By Andrew Deck
Philippines Reports 2 February 2023 This social network paid users for posts. What could go wrong? Wildly popular in the Philippines, Lyka collapsed and left users with stores of tokens worth nothing. Now the CEO is plotting a comeback. By Andrew Deck and Aie Balagtas See
Vietnam Q & A 26 January 2023 U.S. and European markets are “very hard to please”: VinFast’s CEO on its global ambitions Lê Thị Thu Thủy on why Vietnam's Vingroup went from making instant noodles to EVs. By Lam Le
Vietnam EV Revolution 24 January 2023 Battery errors, software glitches: some VinFast EV customers are having a rough time VinFast wants to be Vietnam’s Tesla. Its drivers can feel like product testers. By Lam Le
Taiwan News 4 January 2023 Taiwan goes all in on crypto, despite the global crash Taipei Blockchain Week was full of boundless optimism. By Meaghan Tobin
Indonesia 3 Minutes With 3 January 2023 Fixing air quality in one of the world’s most-polluted cities Piotr Jakubowski, co-founder of Jakarta-based Nafas, on clean air and career pivots. By Sarah Hilton
BrazilChinaEl SalvadorIndiaIndonesiaNigeriaSouth AfricaUkraine Lists 28 December 2022 The stats, facts, and figures that defined tech in 2022 From Bukele’s bitcoins to the number of accounts banned by Twitter in India, the best stats of the year. By Meaghan Tobin
AfghanistanBrazilChinaHaitiIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaMoroccoNigeriaPanamaRussiaSyriaUkraine Year In Review 26 December 2022 2022’s best stories on global tech (that we wish we’d written) Articles from around the world which we loved, obsessed over, and still can’t stop thinking about. By Rest of World Staff
IndonesiaKenyaSingaporeU.K. Ideas 21 December 2022 Millions of workers are managed by algorithms One day, that could be normal. Here’s what we need to do about it. By PeiChin Tay and Oliver Large
ChinaIndonesiaKazakhstanSingapore Crypto’s Big Collapse 21 December 2022 Crypto miners and traders are closing up shop across Asia From Jakarta to Kazakhstan, the picture is bleak. “We will sell our graphics-processing units to gamers,” says one crypto miner. By Naubet Bisenov, Adi Renaldi and Nicole Lim