Tencent

Alibaba reduced its head count by a third in 2025, while Baidu’s workforce declined nearly 7%. “There’s constant churn,” a Chinese tech worker said.

Employees are rushing to learn new tools as layoffs and automation fuel widespread AI anxiety.

Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu pledge millions and race to release new models before the holiday—fearing a new "DeepSeek shock" might steal the spotlight.

Chinese hyperscalers are selling special server packages to attract early adopters eager to test the latest AI agent–now known as OpenClaw.

DeepSeek’s R2 launch was likely delayed by limited access to compute, but a new model is on its way, intensifying the AI rivalry between the U.S. and China.

China is changing its long-critical stance thanks to the smash hit, according to Chinese game developers and industry analysts.

And what it means for Microsoft.

Rest of World spoke to more than a dozen employees who said that TikTok remains answerable to ByteDance rather than its international leadership.

Young Chinese people are hiring online tarot readers and feng shui masters to seek cheap therapy.

Purchasing agents are sourcing medicines from India and border regions to sell on social media platforms.

The Tencent app is so essential to life in China that banned users will go to great lengths to be reinstated.

A government crackdown and economic downturn have led to massive layoffs, but some are relieved to exit the grueling ‘996’ work life.