Dispatches from Rest of World: February 26

Here are this week's biggest stories in tech from the regions that we cover. For more exclusive content, sign up for Rest of World's weekly global newsletter.

Image source: Why one of the world’s major AI pioneers is betting big on Saudi Arabia

Africa Microsoft has announced that it will be spending $1 million to train a million Nigerians in artificial intelligence and other digital skills. The tech giant will partner with local organizations like Tech4Dev and Data Science Nigeria for two years. This is Microsoft’s latest AI initiative in Africa following its announcement to train 1 million people in South Africa in AI and cybersecurity by 2026. In 2023, it pledged to build a billion-dollar data center in Kenya. Close competitors like Google have also pledged funds to help build the talent pipeline needed to develop Africa’s AI forays. —?Damilare Dosunmu from Lagos

China Chinese tech stocks surged last week, driven by a slew of robust earnings reports and sustained optimism from Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI breakthroughs. The Hang Seng Tech Index, tracking Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks, rose 6.5% on Friday to its highest level since early 2022. Alibaba led the rally, climbing 15% after beating sales estimates, while Bilibili and Lenovo also advanced on better-than-expected results. President Xi Jinping’s rare recent public meeting with Chinese tech titans including Jack Ma has raised hopes among investors that Beijing will ease regulations on private firms amid U.S. trade tensions. —?Joanna Chiu from Vancouver

Latin America Netflix is planning to invest $1 billion in Mexico over the next four years. The streaming service’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, said the funds will go toward not just producing shows and films but also fostering behind-the-camera talent and modernizing infrastructure. Mexico’s audiovisual industry has experienced a boom since Netflix debuted in the country in 2011, and the impact on the larger economy has been significant: For every 100 people directly employed in the industry, an additional 66 jobs are created. —?Karla Zabludovsky from Mexico City

South Asia On February 19, Google inaugurated a new campus in Bengaluru, which it described as “one of Google’s largest offices globally.” The 1.6 million-square-foot facility with a capacity of over 5,000 employees is the tech giant’s fourth campus in India’s Silicon Valley. The announcement comes less than a week after another software behemoth, Microsoft, opened a 1.1 million-square-foot facility in India.?—?Ananya Bhattacharya from Mumbai

Southeast Asia Vietnam’s parliament has adopted rules that would allow Starlink to provide satellite internet services in the country. Talks to launch Starlink in the Southeast Asian nation had previously been stymied over rules which limited foreign ownership of a local subsidiary. Under the new rules, SpaceX can now maintain full ownership of any local subsidiary. Last year, the Vietnamese government said SpaceX proposed to invest $1.5 billion in the country, which ?already hosts a number of Starlink component suppliers. —?Lam Le from Hanoi