Michael Zelenko

Inside the collapse of Builder.ai: Was it even an AI company? The implosion of a white-hot startup has employees asking how it all went wrong.

BuilderAI raised $445 million as it boasted that its AI chatbot, Natasha, would radically simplify the process of building apps and websites. When the company collapsed, one viral tweet claimed Natasha was really just 700 human engineers.

In our new feature, we set out to find the truth.

Inside the collapse of Builder.ai: Was it even an AI company? The implosion of a white-hot startup has employees asking how it all went wrong.

"...some analysts are holding up Builder.ai as a potential case of 'AI washing,' in which companies falsely promote products or services as AI to attract attention and funding." restofworld.org/2025/builder...

BYD distracted the world while Chinese EV peers staged a coup Even as BYD grabs headlines, a pack of Chinese automakers is quietly conquering overseas markets with aggressive pricing and localization.

While all eyes were on BYD overtaking Tesla, smaller Chinese EV makers quietly rolled into the global top 10. Chinese automakers now control 70% of global EV production, reports Ananya Bhattacharya for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/chinese...

The EV revolution has sparked a dangerous boom in illegal lithium mining in countries like Zimbabwe.

@restofworld.org's latest feature is about a deadly example of one such case

restofworld.org/2025/zimbabw...

Dangerous mines: A death at the bottom of the EV supply chain In Zimbabwe, the EV rush has brought a surge of Chinese investment into lithium mines. But many locals feel left out — and some have turned to stealing.

The EV boom has brought Chinese investment in Zimbabwe lithium mines. But locals feel left out, and some have turned to stealing, risking death from falls and cave-ins, as well as violent encounters with guards. Read in @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/zimbabwe-lithium-mining-boom

Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.

Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet restofworld.org/2025...

Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.

Despite the billions in investment, and the thousands of satellites zipping around, it is still hard to really picture the satellite internet industry. @khadijaalam.bsky.social gathered data to help visualize this rapidly growing business for @restofworld.org.

restofworld.org/2025/satelli...

Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.

Space-based internet is remaking Earth’s orbit — and fueling a gold rush.

Come gawk at our new, immersive, visual feature

restofworld.org/2025/satelli...

AI Killed My Job: Tech workers Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.

AI is being used to justify firing workers at major tech companies, leaving those that remain to pick up the pieces.

AI code is being shoveled into crucial Google products, replacing trainers at TikTok, and worse.

This, in tech workers' own words, is how AI is killing jobs in Silicon Valley.

I had wondered why I was reading about Palestinean-Israeli deaths last week, seemingly disproportionately

Samsung is desperate to compete on chips. Workers say it comes at a cost. Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers are leaving for competitors, including American companies.

Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers for Samsung are leaving for competitors, including American companies.

Michelle Kim's reporting from Seoul for @restofworld.org

restofworld.org/2025/samsung...

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.

Awesome to see @violazhou.bsky.social's @restofworld.org Gotion feature turned into a @planetmoney.bsky.social episode!

Read the story: restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...

And then listen to the segment! www.npr.org/2025/06/06/1...

Incredible headline/photo combo

Updates: Israeli forces kill dozens at US-backed aid sites in Gaza Killings come as Hamas seeks changes to a ceasefire deal proposed by the US, but Trump’s envoy has dismissed the call.

Israeli tanks and drones open fire on Palestinians gathered at aid distribution sites run by a US-backed group in Gaza, killing more than 30 people in Rafah alone.

www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

There are more web-based facial recognition tools than ever. But what do we actually know about them? I uncovered surprising info about 9 services:

🔎 One is run from Iran
🔎 One uses pics of fake customers
🔎 Some won't say who owns them

More @indicator.media: indicator.media/p/facial-rec... #OSINT

A profile of Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran, who refuses to take responsibility for the edtech company's implosion and is accused of hiding $533M from US lenders (Yudhijit Bhattacharjee/Rest of World)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Three Years in Product: What I Built I joined Rest of World in 2022 as one of the two front-end developers. Three years, one redesign, and many rounds of confetti later, I’m wrapping up—and reflecting on the projects I’m most proud of.

Before she left, Lily wrote this reflection on her time at @restofworld.org - what she built, and what she learned. restofworld.org/inside/three...

The math tutor and the missing $533 million From Dubai, the enigmatic founder of Byju’s recounts how he made his empire — and vows to rebuild it.

BYJU’s was one of the world’s top ed-tech companies — until it was rocked by staggering allegations of fraud.

Can its enigmatic founder rebuild his empire?

Read our latest feature, by @yudhijit.bsky.social —

restofworld.org/2025/byjus-o...

A global ed-tech giant collapses, $500m goes missing, and an IHOP in Florida at the heart of it. This story has it ALL.

Fantastic reporting from @yudhijit.bsky.social who flew to Dubai to ride around in a Cadillac with Byju himself

restofworld.org/2025/byjus-o...

Speaking of scams: @restofworld.org reports that young Indonesians who think they are applying for tech jobs are being trafficked to scam farms, where they are forced to use AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones, and other tech to con people out of their savings. restofworld.org/2025/fake-jo...

Fantastic to see @restofworld.org and @contextnewsroom.bsky.social win a Telly Award for our co-produced video series Gig Workers Rising. Congrats to everyone who contributed!

www.tellyawards.com/winners/2025...

Bar graph displaying contents of Elon Musk's X posts in 2025, where the proportion of posts about US politics peaks in early February and has declined since then, and the proportion of posts about his companies increases.

In early February, as many as 75% of Elon Musk's posts on X were about DOGE or U.S. politics.

Recently, the figure has been more like 10%. Instead, he's posting WAY more about his companies.

My latest w/ @sarahellison.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump Administration Live Updates: Meeting With South African Leader Turns Contentious Over False Genocide Claims

“Elon happens to be from South Africa. This is what Elon wanted.”

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05...

NEW: Nice Democracy you have here…

The Trump Admin has a pressure campaign to help Elon Musk’s biz.

In Gambia, officials got a veiled threat of losing U.S. govt funding.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

"There is only one life and it ends. You have to give meaning to it. Fight for happiness, not just for wealth."

How to Be Truly Free: Lessons From a Philosopher President

Very few pieces of journalism have stuck with me like this one

www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/w...

The Cybertruck was supposed to be apocalypse-proof. Can it even survive a trip to the grocery store? Thanks to poor engineering and Elon Musk, Tesla’s road rage-inducing street tank can’t even win over its core demographic: doomsday preppers

"‘Are people shooting at me because they think I’m an idiot or a bad guy, or they don’t support my political views – or they don’t support me supporting this company?’”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Meta’s content moderators face worst conditions yet at secret Ghana… Hit by workers’ rights lawsuits in Kenya, the tech giant has moved its outsourcing to a top-secret new site – where life is grimmer still

Meta has gone to great lengths to hide its content moderation operation, where workers are tasked with reviewing disturbing content

Workers say they were instructed to tell no one, not even their families, about the nature of their work (1/4)

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

‘Devastating:’ Chan Zuckerberg charity slashes funding for more Bay Area nonprofits “They are making sure to cut anything that would sound or even be construed as DEI-esque,” one former employee said.

‘Devastating:’ Chan Zuckerberg charity slashes funding for more Bay Area nonprofits

SOPA 2025 Awards Finalists Revealed! For SOPA 2025 Awards, The Society of Publishers in Asia is thrilled to share that we have received more than 700 entries in English and Chinese. A hearty round of applause and congratulations to all o...

Thrilled to see that @restofworld.org is a finalist for not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 SOPAs!

sopawards.com/the-sopa-awa...