Michael Zelenko
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Michael Zelenko
@mvzelenko.bsky.social
Executive Editor, Rest of World
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Sources detail how Tiger Global fueled the COVID-era unicorn bubble that burst ahead of the AI boom; the firm recently shared its $12.7B 2021 fund is now up 16% (Issie Lapowsky/Rest of World)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
December 18, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
The fast-money pandemic era created a glut of unicorns around the world — then brought many down just as quickly.

For @restofworld.org, I wrote about the role that Tiger Global played in fueling this hype cycle and what it can teach us about the current AI boom. restofworld.org/2025/tiger-g...
Big bets and broken unicorns: Tiger Global’s rise and reckoning
The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly. Will the AI boom be a repeat?
restofworld.org
December 16, 2025 at 1:44 PM
"Too much money fucked us, basically."

FANTASTIC feature from @issielapowsky.bsky.social on how Tiger Global flooded the startup market with capital, and the wreckage it left behind.

Great data viz from @hazelgandhi.bsky.social & stunning art from Nicolas Ortega

restofworld.org/2025/tiger-g...
December 16, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Analysis: of the 8,808 global data centers in October 2025, ~7,000 are in areas outside the optimal 18C to 27C temperature range; 600 are in areas above 27C (Rest of World)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
December 16, 2025 at 11:05 AM
This morning @restofworld.org published a visual investigation mapping the hottest data centers around the world.

We found that in 21 countries, ALL data centers are located in a climate that's simply too hot.

Read more here: restofworld.org/2025/data-ce...
December 15, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
PSA: Next time a techbro says "we need to teach humanitarian NGOs to be like startups" I'll throw hands restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sk...
Thank you to @restofworld.org for the amazing work they do
The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
restofworld.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
This morning @restofworld.org published the incredibly heart-breaking story of Gaza Sky Geeks, the vibrant Gaza-based tech hub that was the darling of international press through the 2010s 🧵

restofworld.org/2025/gaza-sk...
The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
restofworld.org
November 4, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks was a model for how tech could transform Gaza. Just days after October 7, its office was blown to pieces by an Israeli airstrike. Now, with a tentative ceasefire in place, it’s trying to rebuild.

Read our new feature from @mohamhawish.bsky.social & Aseel Mousa:
The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
restofworld.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
The bombing of Gaza Sky Geeks
For over a decade, Gaza Sky Geeks built a tech future for the Gaza Strip. Then came war.
restofworld.org
November 4, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Very glad to see my story on AI and medicine printed in the Guardian this week!

If you haven’t read it: restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
October 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
BREAKING from PP

We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*

The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:

Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer

More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado

www.propublica.org/article/immi...

by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
September 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Assad is out. Startups are in. Syria’s tech industry was put on hold by 14 years of devastating civil war and crippling economic sanctions. Now it’s roaring back to life as tech founders try to rebuild the country. @emilywither.bsky.social for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/syria-t...
Syria’s quest to build its own Silicon Valley
Tech founders in Damascus are rebooting a war-torn country.
restofworld.org
September 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
“India is the world’s third-largest producer of e-waste, having generated approximately 1.75 million metric tons in the fiscal year ending 2024, an increase of nearly 75% over the last five years.” restofworld.org/2025/india-e...
The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
The informal recycling economy is turning global e-waste into profit — at a steep human and environmental cost.
restofworld.org
September 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
this is a really important project, and I can't think of anyone better than @damonberes.com to be leading it
I'm proud to share a new project that @alexreisner.bsky.social and I launched at @theatlantic.com today! It's called AI Watchdog, and it's our new home for all of the investigations into training data sets, such as LibGen, Books3, and OpenSubtitles. www.theatlantic.com/category/ai-...
September 10, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Interesting deep dive into DeepSeek providing medical advice to a kidney patient - @violazhou.bsky.social mother!

restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...

Feat @melhoenig.bsky.social and @kidneyboy.bsky.social

#NephSky #AI #LLM
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 7, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
“DeepSeek is so much better than doctors.” @violazhou.bsky.social is unsettled by the way her mother, a kidney transplant patient in eastern China, relies on an AI chatbot for health advice. But she also recognizes that the bigger problem is a systemic one. restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 5, 2025 at 2:48 PM
“DeepSeek is more humane,” my mother told me in May. “Doctors are more like machines.”

restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
September 3, 2025 at 10:17 PM
“Our forefathers did this. … No one else can do it,” he continued. “If someone tried, he will be beaten black and blue.”

The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
restofworld.org/2025/india-e...
The dirty truth behind the e-waste recycling industry
The informal recycling economy is turning global e-waste into profit — at a steep human and environmental cost.
restofworld.org
September 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
A reporter details how her mother, a kidney transplant patient who lives in China, bonded with DeepSeek's chatbot as her AI doctor, calling it "more humane" (Viola Zhou/Rest of World)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
September 3, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
Not long after DeepSeek R1 launched, I discovered that my mother had started using the chatbot as her virtual doctor.

I worried about her reliance on AI. But over time, I realized Dr. DeepSeek was offering something no human in her life could.

restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
In this personal essay (my first for @restofworld.org), I explore patients’ relationship with AI, why chatbots can’t yet replace doctors, the caretaking burden on my one-child generation, and the tech industry that promises to ease our struggles.

restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
When her mom, a kidney transplant patient in a small Chinese city, turned to DeepSeek for medical advice @violazhou.bsky.social asked doctors to review the chat logs. They said the AI bot was giving flawed advice. Read the firsthand account on @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 2, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Michael Zelenko
When her mom became smitten with Dr. DeepSeek, @violazhou.bsky.social asked human doctors to review the chat logs. They said the AI bot is giving alarmingly flawed advice. But maybe her mom is after something more than just medical help.

Read our new feature: restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
restofworld.org
September 2, 2025 at 3:38 PM