Rest of World

Rest of World was first announced in May 2019 by Sophie Schmidt, daughter of former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, and Wendy Schmidt, as a publication about the impact of technology on the non-Western world, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The news website is operated by Rest of World Media Inc., an American private operating foundation established in April 2019.Rest of World Media, Inc. Consolidated Financial Statements. (2023). Clark Nuber. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://restofworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2022-1231-rest-of-world-media-fs-1.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729110853/https://restofworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2022-1231-rest-of-world-media-fs-1.pdf |date=2024-07-29 }} The organization's operations are funded through multiple sources, including grants from foundations such as the Schmidt Family Foundation, donations and sponsorships.{{Cite web |year=2023 |title=Grant Database - 144571 - Rest of World Media International, LLC |url=https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/rest-of-world-media-international-llc-144571/ |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Ford Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727044921/https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/rest-of-world-media-international-llc-144571/ |url-status=live }}

Rest of World was launched in May 2020.{{Cite web |last=Margalit |first=Ruth |date=December 1, 2020 |title=Out of Nowhere |url=https://www.cjr.org/special_report/out-of-nowhere.php |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en |archive-date=2024-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924142500/https://www.cjr.org/special_report/out-of-nowhere.php |url-status=live }} That year, Anup Kaphle, a journalist who previously worked for The Washington Post, Buzzfeed News and The Kathmandu Post, joined Rest of World as its founding executive editor. As of September 2020, Rest of World had 30 employees, with about 20 being full-time staffers.

In January 2025, Maryam Saleh, previously an editor for The Intercept,{{Cite web |last=Tani |first=Max |date=April 15, 2024 |title=The Intercept is running out of cash |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/04/14/2024/the-intercept-is-running-out-of-cash |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Semafor}} joined Rest of World as its first Investigations Editor.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-27 |title=Maryam Saleh joins Rest of World as Investigations Editor |url=https://restofworld.org/inside/maryam-saleh-joins-rest-of-world-as-investigations-editor/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=Rest of World |language=en-US}}

Rest of World's office is located in New York City, while most of its reporters are in Berlin, Hong Kong, Bangalore and other international locations. They also rely on a network of freelance journalists from around the globe.

Rest of World Media, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation established in April 2019 and incorporated in the state of Delaware as a nonprofit, charitable corporation. The foundation has one subsidiary, Rest of World Media International, LLC, formed in January 2020 and registered in Kenya as a foreign company. Its purpose is to employ editorial staff.

Rest of World has received numerous grants from notable organizations such as the Schmidt Family Foundation, Ford Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, and Luminate – an entity operated by the Omidyar Group.

Sophie Schmidt said in September 2020 that she would be spending $60 million on Rest of World over the next decade, with no plans to sell advertising or to use a subscription model. She said she might bring in another investor.

Schmidt said in September 2020, "There are three or four billion people who live in markets that are deemed not important enough to address, so there is just a huge gap in understanding what is going on in the rest of the world." Kaphle said in November 2021, "We believe there's a significant gap in how the story of technology is told today — how many thousands of tech companies, apps and experiences with tech go unreported in Western press — so our goal is to fill that gap with compelling, immersive, and high-quality journalism."

Rest of World maintains partnerships with international news outlets such as India's The Caravan and Mexico's {{Interlanguage link|Animal Político|es|italic=1}}. It has extensively covered the electric vehicle revolution, the gig economy, Chinese technology companies, and artificial intelligence in global markets.{{Cite news |last=Ovide |first=Shira |date=2021-09-22 |title=These Apps Deliver Food and Misery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/technology/delivery-apps-true-cost.html |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2024-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513022633/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/technology/delivery-apps-true-cost.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-12-03 |title=Why production of Apple iPhones has been moving from China to India |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-production-of-apple-iphones-has-been-moving-from-china-to-india |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=2024-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513022911/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-production-of-apple-iphones-has-been-moving-from-china-to-india |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=TikTok sues the US over potential ban, citing freedom of speech |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/05/07/2024/tiktok-sues-us-over-ban |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511002915/https://www.semafor.com/article/05/07/2024/tiktok-sues-us-over-ban |archive-date=2024-05-11 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Semafor |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Fink |first=Kathryn |date=March 4, 2024 |title=How some companies hope to bring China's livestream shopping trend to the U.S. |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1235853339/how-some-companies-hope-to-bring-chinas-livestream-shopping-trend-to-the-u-s |work=National Public Radio |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513024152/https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1235853339/how-some-companies-hope-to-bring-chinas-livestream-shopping-trend-to-the-u-s |url-status=live }}

The publication won a 2024 National Magazine Award in the design category, for articles on innovative non-western companies, Chinese shopping platforms, and how AI stereotypes different nationalities.{{Cite web |title=AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGAZINE EDITORS ANNOUNCES NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS 2024 WINNERS |url=https://asme.memberclicks.net/american-society-of-magazine-editors-announces-national-magazine-awards-2024-winners |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=asme.memberclicks.net |archive-date=2024-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513022054/https://asme.memberclicks.net/american-society-of-magazine-editors-announces-national-magazine-awards-2024-winners |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-05 |title=40 trailblazing companies that are beating the West |url=https://restofworld.org/2023/rest-vs-west/ |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Rest of World |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514035333/https://restofworld.org/2023/rest-vs-west/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-11-14 |title=China, the World's Shopping Cart |url=https://restofworld.org/series/china-shopping-cart/ |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Rest of World |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514035329/https://restofworld.org/series/china-shopping-cart/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-10 |title=How AI reduces the world to stereotypes |url=https://restofworld.org/2023/ai-image-stereotypes/ |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Rest of World |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514035329/https://restofworld.org/2023/ai-image-stereotypes/ |url-status=live }} That year, Rest of World launched an AI Elections Tracker to examine the role AI plays in elections worldwide.{{Cite web |title=How Rest of World is tracking AI use around elections worldwide {{!}} Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |url=http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/how-rest-world-tracking-ai-use-around-elections-worldwide |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521171933/http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/how-rest-world-tracking-ai-use-around-elections-worldwide |url-status=live }}

• Institute for Nonprofit News (member)
• Sophie Schmidt (founder)

Category:News websites

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