Mehboob Jeelani

How Vietnam’s military built one of the hottest tech companies in Southeast Asia Over two decades, Viettel grew from a state telco into a tech powerhouse that makes everything from 5G chips to robots to affordable mobile phones.

Viettel, launched by Vietnam’s military in 1989 to build antenna towers, now leads as a telecom giant in seven international markets. And it makes everything from 5G chips, robots, & radar systems to phones & surveillance tech. By
@lamle52.bsky.social restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...

Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts All U.S.-bound iPhones will reportedly be produced in India, showing how U.S.-China tensions are reshaping global supply chains.

For the first time, Apple will produce all new U.S.-bound iPhone models in India.

While Apple fans celebrate the launch of the iPhone 17, @jeelanireports.bsky.social spoke with phone manufacturing and supply chain experts to understand why this launch is a geopolitical landmark.

Is Apple’s iPhone 17 launch a win for India? We asked experts All U.S.-bound iPhones will reportedly be produced in India, showing how U.S.-China tensions are reshaping global supply chains.

While Apple fans celebrate the launch of the iPhone 17, Rest of World spoke with phone manufacturing and supply chain experts to understand why this launch is a geopolitical landmark.

restofworld.org/2025/is-appl...

The surprise winner in the U.S.-China tech war? Vietnam’s chip industry Vietnamese chip component suppliers are responding to growing market demands for products with no Chinese link.

Not everything is black and white in Trump's tariff war. Unexpected winners are emerging in Vietnam's semiconductor sector. Check out @lamle52.bsky.social's latest: restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...

Why the world should stop obsessing over LLMs Nandan Nilekani, the mind behind India’s digital revolution, says the future of AI will not be shaped by who builds the bigger model but by small systems designed to resolve real-world problems.

Earlier this month, I flew to Bengaluru to meet Nandan Nilekani, India's tech billionaire and co-founder of Infosys. He told me and my colleague, Itika, that the future of AI will be spoken, not written restofworld.org/2025/nandan-...

TikTok’s messy merger in Indonesia could be a preview of what’s to come in the U.S. A year after merging with local giant Tokopedia, TikTok’s business model is alienating sellers, forcing many to join rival platforms.

A year on after Chinese heavyweight ByteDance bought a majority stake in Tokopedia, the Indonesian giant has “lost its soul”, and “reduced to just another generic Chinese marketplace”. Read this by @michelleanindya.bsky.social: restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-...

Meta’s grand WhatsApp fintech experiment in India has fizzled Despite having 500 million users in India, WhatsApp couldn’t crack the country’s $3 trillion fintech market.

Despite having 500 million users in India, WhatsApp couldn’t crack the country’s $3 trillion fintech market.
restofworld.org/2025/whatsap...

India’s richest man can’t crack e-commerce, even with Shein Early data shows the partnership is off to a slow start, as Reliance’s retail machine struggles to cement its place in a market dominated by Amazon and Walmart.

Online retail eludes India’s richest man. Here's why Mukesh Ambani needed Shein in India. restofworld.org/2025/shein-i...

How do you compete with Chinese e-commerce giants? A Vietnamese company is deploying housewives Sendo, once poised to become Vietnam’s leading e-commerce company, is reinventing itself to survive against TikTok Shop and Shopee.

Surviving Chinese e-commerce big shots in Southeast Asia has never been easy, but Vietnam's Sendo has employed housewives and anyone else with unused fridge space to sell grocery. It's a survival tactic and it's working. restofworld.org/2025/sendo-f...

Inside the spectacular rise and crash of India’s largest EV company Can Bhavish Aggarwal fix Ola Electric's problems — or is he one of them?

Do read this definitive profile of Ola’s eccentric CEO, once “a kid roaming around in shorts with an SLR,” now dubbed India’s Elon Musk.
restofworld.org/2025/bhavish...

Why India fell behind China in tech innovation India’s government urges the private sector to take the lead in tech innovation, while industry experts say it’s complicated.

A strong piece on how India is working to accelerate high-tech manufacturing and develop its own AI tools. restofworld.org/2025/india-f...

How Big Tech hides its outsourced African workforce New data reveals the hidden network of African workers powering AI, as they push for transparency from the global companies that employ them indirectly.

New data reveals the hidden network of African workers powering AI. They are pushing for greater transparency from the global companies that employ them through outsourcing firms. Reporting by Stephanie Wangari and Gayathri Vaidyanathan on @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...

When the world connected on Skype On the eve of its demise, Rest of World readers remember how Skype changed their world.

In a few weeks, Skype is going the way of other early internet icons like AOL Instant Messenger and Friendster. But before it shuts down, we asked Rest of World readers to share their favorite memories of using the video-calling service
restofworld.org/2025/skype-s...

Foxconn’s iPhone factory is fueling a real estate boom in a small Indian farming town The $2.5 billion “Project Elephant” will be the company’s second-largest factory outside China and create 40,000 jobs.

Foxconn’s arrival has set off urban sprawl in an Indian agricultural town. The iPhone supplier is diversifying from China to escape Trump's trade war. Here's our latest on how quickly a rural Bengaluru town changed as the Taiwanese giant Foxconn stepped in. restofworld.org/2025/foxconn...

Trump’s tariffs test Vietnam’s role as manufacturing alternative to China The U.S.-China trade war drove Apple’s Chinese suppliers to Vietnam. Now they’re stuck with hard choices.

Vietnam is still on edge. Trump’s tariff pause offers only brief relief. In Bac Ninh, where Apple and Samsung contractors operate, the chill is already setting in.
Read @LamLe52’s report from the heart of Vietnam's manufacturing engine: restofworld.org/2025/vietnam...

Uber wades into a fierce price war to stay competitive in India Upstarts and political pressures are forcing Uber to play by new rules as they reshape India’s ride-hailing economy.

“Uber knows slashing prices is the only way to keep customers hooked”.
India's taxi wars in the ride-hailing sector have gotten intense, as Uber squeezes margins. Our latest: restofworld.org/2025/uber-in...

Myanmar’s internet blackout is costing lives in earthquake-hit areas Digital rights activist says Starlink could have connected survivors, but the devices are banned.

As Myanmar tries to recover from last week’s devastating earthquake, which has claimed more than 2,700 lives, internet blackout are an obstacle to relief and rescue work:
restofworld.org/2025/myanmar...

After U.S. failure, Vietnam’s EV leader turns to markets dominated by Tesla and BYD VinFast follows its Vietnam playbook in Asia and targets the luxury market in the Gulf.

Can Vietnam’s leading automaker VinFast survive in markets dominated by Chinese rivals like BYD and Indian giants like Tata and go where Tesla hasn’t?
Here's more on VinFast’s second act after a US debacle: restofworld.org/2025/vinfast...

Toffler in China | Howard W. French The work of the eclectic American futurist exerted a profound and unanticipated influence on China's digital transformation since the 1980s.

A fascinating discussion of Alvin Toffler's influence in/on modern #China by @hofrench.bsky.social in @nybooks.com The digital transformation of China reflects Toffler's ideas, but Toffler did not anticipate how it would help create a surveillance society.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

Screaming customers, unpaid workers: Inside the chaotic demise of Indian online delivery pioneer Dunzo Dunzo was a trailblazer in India’s online delivery sector, but things went awry when it shifted from its core strength.

Dunzo's collapse isn’t just one company’s failure but a symptom of India’s startup cash-burn culture, where even strong backers like Google & Reliance can't save you restofworld.org/2025/dunzo-s...

The decline of India’s largest EV company — in charts Ola Electric Mobility struggles to maintain its edge as legacy players tap into customer trust and brand loyalty.

India’s largest EV company is losing ground - in charts
restofworld.org/2025/ola-ele...

How to pitch a story to Rest of World We cover most of the countries outside the West, with a focus and presence in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

@restofworld.org is looking for experienced freelance journalists to send their pitches to mehboob@restofworld.org for Asia and indranil@restofworld.org for the Middle East and Africa.
Please go through RoW's pitch guidelines before reaching out to us restofworld.org/about/how-to...

How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.

The Chinese EV company Gotion expected a warm welcome in a small Michigan town but faced protests and suspicion instead, with many residents seeing it as a Communist Trojan horse. Superb piece. restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...

Starlink is coming to India. Here’s what to know An alliance with Airtel, one of India’s largest telcos, opens the door for Elon Musk’s satellite giant to access the world’s second-largest internet user base.

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet is finally making its way into India. Here’s what to know about its partnership with Airtel, the country’s second-largest telecom firm restofworld.org/2025/airtel-...

Inside a Fusion Startup's Insane, Top-Secret Opening Ceremony Robots! Huge capacitors! A pianist-programmer of impossible skill! One of Silicon Valley's formative figures takes the stage at a wild event.

"Grimes was there, gaggle of kids orbiting her on the floor, transfixed. One said this must be what monsters listen to"

Reading this piece reminded me of a Hemingway quote: 'All things truly wicked start from innocence.'

www.wired.com/story/inside...

EU to demand technology transfers from Chinese companies New requirements will apply to batteries but could be expanded to other green sectors

This is so interesting. China, of course, did this for decades. Large developing nations should jointly demand the same from advanced economies. www.ft.com/content/f4fd...

a silver and black nokia phone with the words emas connecting maso on it ALT: a silver and black nokia phone with the words emas connecting maso on it

Hello Blue Sky, Hope you don't end up like Twitter. Hope we get to relive the early 2010s.