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Jan 17, 2025 | 
restofworld.org | Russell Brandom |Nilesh Christopher |Viola Zhou |Caiwei Chen
For years, efforts to ban TikTok have shaped global tech policy debates. India set the stage by banning the platform in 2020 and ramping up its crackdown on Chinese tech in 2022. The U.S. has followed India’s lead, leveraging app bans as a geopolitical tool. Meanwhile, Chinese tech firms have scrambled to rebrand and adapt to appear local. A TikTok ban was first floated by President Trump in 2020, and ultimately signed into law by President Biden in 2024.
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Jun 5, 2024 | 
theatlantic.com | Nilesh Christopher
India’s election was ripe for a crisis of AI misinformation. It didn’t happen.
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May 20, 2024 | 
wired.com | Nilesh Christopher |Varsha Bansal
India’s elections are a glimpse of the AI-driven future of democracy. Politicians are using audio and video deepfakes of themselves to reach voters—who may have no idea they’ve been talking to a clone.
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Mar 24, 2024 | 
restofworld.org | Viola Zhou |Russell Brandom |Caiwei Chen |Nilesh Christopher
China China What the TikTok ban really means for U.S. companies.
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Jan 26, 2024 | 
restofworld.org | Morris Kiruga |Nilesh Christopher |Sekinat Motunrayo Ojeniyi |Olatunji Olaigbe
This lending app publicly shames you when you’re late on loan paymentOkash, a popular fintech app in Kenya and Nigeria, threatens users to notify everyone on their contact list when you fall behind on your loan payments.
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Jan 25, 2024 | 
restofworld.org | Nilesh Christopher |Viola Zhou |Yashraj Sharma |Andrew Deck
AI is already taking video game illustrators’ jobs in China“AI is developing at a speed way beyond our imagination. Two people could potentially do the work that used to be done by 10.”
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Nov 13, 2023 | 
restofworld.org | Nilesh Christopher
When it launched in 2013, Indian startup RecycleKaro used to dismantle electronic waste. It has since developed processes to extract cobalt, nickel, and manganese from lithium ion batteries. According to managing director Rajesh Gupta, the company plans to leverage the boom in electric vehicles — and the consequent battery waste — through its upcoming 6.9-hectare facility that will extract nickel from scrapped lithium ion batteries. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
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Oct 23, 2023 | 
restofworld.org | Nilesh Christopher
Leverage Edu is a study-abroad platform that helps students find courses and apply to international universities. It has, of late, also helped students get education loans, apply for visas, and find accommodation. The company, founded by Akshay Chaturvedi, has raised $70 million, and is valued at $150 million. It is one of the few profitable edtech companies in India. While the majority of Leverage Edu’s revenue comes from Indian students, about 7% of its users are from Nigeria, and 2% from Nepal.
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Sep 24, 2023 | 
restofworld.org | Nilesh Christopher
Tata Group, one of India’s largest — and oldest — conglomerates, is eyeing a share in iPhone manufacturing in India. The sector has so far been dominated by Taiwanese manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. Tata Electronics, the company’s young mobile parts manufacturing arm, currently already makes iPhone casings at a factory in Hosur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
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Sep 19, 2023 | 
restofworld.org | Andrew Deck |Viola Zhou |Caiwei Chen |Nilesh Christopher
Some languages pay a lot better than others.
