Rest of World faces prospect of shutting down

Rest of World, a technology-focused digital publication, is grappling with the possibility of shutting down due to a sharp decline in traffic. Founded in 2020 with ambitions to reshape Western perspectives by covering underreported technology stories, the six-year-old startup has seen its social and web search traffic dwindle. Founder and primary investor Sophie Schmidt has held talks with several large institutions about potentially taking over the organization, but also prepared for a contingency plan, setting a late January deadline for a potential shutdown.

This measure aims to provide departing employees with exit packages and the opportunity to seek new jobs. While Schmidt remains proud of her team and the journalism they've produced, she privately acknowledges the impact of the declining audience. Launched as a nonprofit with initial funding from Schmidt, Rest of World employed numerous journalists and freelancers, receiving accolades and influencing global policies, such as its reporting on Uber Eats in South Africa and mapping in rural Borneo.

However, the organization's fortunes shifted around the second Trump administration, as online traffic plunged. In an effort to reconnect with its audience, Rest of World shifted its focus to regions it believed could better support its mission and required visitors to register to read articles, but these efforts failed to halt the reader decline.

Competing pressures including industry-wide online traffic issues, the rise of chatbots and AI summaries, and a cultural shift within the tech community towards right-leaning, inward-looking content have all contributed to the publication's struggles.