We at Rest of World love a good chart. So much so that this year we launched Charts, a page dedicated to preserving all the original charts we put into our articles. In 2025, we used them to help visualize the year’s biggest global tech stories, on topics as diverse as Tesla’s struggles, China’s rising EV dominance, the global AI race, data center spending, and the OnlyFans economy.
Here are 10 of our favorites.
Last year, China’s BYDBYDBYD Auto is a Chinese carmaker that became the world’s leading EV manufacturer in 2023, competing with Tesla for market share and global attention.READ MORE passed Tesla to become the world’s top seller of electric vehicles. One key component of BYD’s success: price.
Tech giants like Microsoft and Google say their data centers create thousands of jobs. We analyzed their government permit filings and found that even the largest data centers have the potential to create only hundreds of full-time jobs, mostly in security and cleaning.
Facing bans in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese tech giant Huawei is targeting emerging markets to build data centers and push its AI chips, clashing with America’s goal to dominate the AI stack. We looked at which countries have banned the company’s equipment.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s potential crackdown on H-1B visas, which allow highly skilled foreign workers to live in the U.S., sparked fears in Silicon Valley. Five U.S. tech giants — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple — were among the top 10 companies to get H-1B visas. In September, Trump announced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applicants.
OlaOlaOla is a transportation company, founded in 2010 by Bhavish Agarwal, which offers ride-hailing services and sells electric scooters.READ MORE Electric was once the biggest EV company in India, where people buy five times as many two-wheelers as cars. We profiled its spectacular rise and crash.
Despite tensions with China, India is avoiding U.S.-style restrictions, hoping for a bridge to domestic innovation. Without Chinese tech, India would face supply shortages, delayed rollouts, and reduced product diversity.
AI chatbots are starting to take over from low-wage workers, known as “chatters,” who impersonate OnlyFans stars in direct messaging with fans. The adult website’s creators rely on these remote operators to flirt with fans, earn tips, and sell images and videos.
The world’s semiconductor supplier, Taiwan, has long grappled with one of the lowest fertility rates globally — far below what’s needed to keep the population stable. Successive governments have done everything from offering baby bonuses to hosting singles mixers. The island’s Silicon Valley is bucking the downward trend.
As of 2023, over 85 nations have space exploration programs, but only a dozen have active spaceports. This leaves the rest of the world dependent on a few countries like the U.S. and Russia to carry out launches.
Facing a shortage of workers, Japanese convenience stores are hiring robots run by tele-operators in the Philippines.
