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Policy

Chinese cash says that a South American tech boom is incoming

Investors from China are pumping money into Latin America at an astonishing rate.

By the numbers: Bloomberg reports that Chinese venture capitalists pushed $1 billion into South American projects during 2017. That’s up from just $30 million in 2015.

Signs of success: Mexico’s most successful news app, Noticias Aguila, was entirely designed and developed by a team based in Shenzhen, China.

Why it matters: In the past, China borrowed ideas from Europe and the US. Now it’s pushing its own tech on up-and-coming nations faster than the West can.

But: China’s entrepreneurs must tread carefully. Bloomberg notes that, as with Chinese car imports and investment in infrastructure, locals often push back against external investment.

Deep Dive

Policy

What happened to the microfinance organization Kiva?

A group of strikers argue that the organization seems more focused on making money than creating change. Are they right?

Worldcoin just officially launched. Here’s why it’s already being investigated.

The project is backed by some of tech's biggest stars, but four countries are probing its privacy practices.

Google has a new tool to outsmart authoritarian internet censorship

Its Outline VPN can now be built directly into apps—making it harder for governments to block internet access, particularly during protests.

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Illustration by Rose Wong

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