Catherine Shu is a TechCrunch writer based in Taipei. She started her career in New York City at the Wall Street Journal Online and Barron’s Online before moving to Asia. After studying Mandarin Chinese, Catherine put her language skills to the test by covering the design industry and culture in Taiwan’s capital for the Taipei Times. Her other journalism experience includes an investigative reporting internship at the Village Voice and numerous freelance writing gigs. Catherine graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
Disclosures: None
Netflix has announced that it will begin operating in The Netherlands later this year, further expanding its European footprint. The Netherlands, Netflix’s seventh European country, is a relatively small market for the streaming video service, but in keeping with Netflix’s more cautious approach to moving into new countries after its aggressive international expansion last year lost money. → Read More
Yahoo! is now the latest tech company to disclose the number of government requests for data it has received over the past 18 months, prompted by the fallout from the NSA spying scandal.
In a statement co-signed by CEO Marissa Mayer and Yahoo! general counsel Ron Bell, the company said that Yahoo! received 12,000 to 13,000 requests from FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and U.S. law… → Read More
Yahoo is offering to purchase social email startup Xobni for $30 million to $40 million, according to AllThingsD’s sources. If the deal goes through, Xobni would be the latest acquisition by Yahoo as CEO Marissa Meyer seeks to boost the company’s talent roster and product offerings. → Read More
Apple posted a press release on its site reaffirming its “commitment to customer privacy” and stating that it first heard of the Prism program when questioned by news organizations on June 6. The company also said that it received between 4,000 to 5,000 requests from U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement for customer data between December 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013. → Read More
If you own a Samsung Galaxy and are a Jay-Z fan, then you will probably be thrilled to hear that Samsung is giving away one million copies of “Magna Carta Holy Grail” to owners of its flagship smartphone 72 hours before the album’s official debut on July 4. → Read More
Imagine walking into a new room and, like Harry Potter, being able to control all the devices in there with a few gestures. But (because you are a Muggle) instead of a wand, you use your smartphone. Developed by Qualcomm, AllJoyn is an open source peer-to-peer software designed to give manufacturers and developers the framework to seamlessly connect a wide range of devices, appliances and mobile… → Read More
Children’s entertainment studio Roam & Wander wants spark children’s imaginations by bridging the gap between touchscreens and real-life toys. The Hong Kong and Taipei-based startup’s top-selling iOS app, Sticker Games, allows kids to earn real stickers sent through postal mail. Now its first stuffed animal, a pink bunny named TuTu that comes with a set of touch-enabled accessories for iPhones… → Read More
It’s a nuisance many Netflix users are familiar with–you log-on to watch something from the Criterion Collection, only to find that your recommendations are now littered with “Dora The Explorer” or “Say Yes To The Dress” because someone in your household with less erudite tastes in streaming entertainment used your account. Fortunately, you will soon be free of that problem after Netflix launches… → Read More
Social-sharing site Reddit has announced the addition of new benefits for Gold members as part of its efforts to further monetize the site without relying on banner ads. Reddit Gold members now have access to a wide range of offers from the site’s retail partners, ranging from urban gardening accessories seller Urbilis to Goldbely, whose products include edible gold-plated bacon. Reddit is also… → Read More
InternMatch has raised a $4 million Series A funding round led by ARTIS Ventures and Subtraction Capital, as well as follow-on investors including Kapor Capital and 500 Startups. The company will use the money to expand its engineering and marketing teams and build data-based technology to help match companies with the right applicants. InternMatch, which launched in 2009, has now raised a total… → Read More
With over 600 million phone numbers in its database, WhosCall allows users around the world ID incoming calls and texts, even if those numbers aren’t already stored in their contacts list. Originally built for Android, the app is now available for the iPhone. → Read More
Online e-commerce site LightInTheBox became the first Chinese company to hold its IPO in the U.S. this year. Trading under the ticker LITB, shares rose 22.2% to $11.61 during the stock’s first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, raising a total of $79 million. LightInTheBox’s strong debut also boosted shares of other Chinese tech stocks, including fellow online retailer Vipshop, which… → Read More
AT&T may link up with the Chernin Group to make a joint bid for Hulu, reports AllThingsD citing unnamed sources close to the telecommunications company. If the discussions go through, the partnership would give the Chernin Group a financial boost as it competes with six other bidders for the streaming video site. The other potential buyers are pay TV operators DirecTV and Time Warner Cable… → Read More
GREE Ventures, the investment arm of the mobile gaming giant, has expanded its Southeast Asia portfolio as the lead in Indonesia real-estate startup UrbanIndo‘s preferred Series A funding. Other participants include Japanese-US investment firm IMJ FENOX. → Read More
“Haunting Melissa” wants to challenge the boundaries of filmmaking by putting a ghost in your (iOS) machine. Created by Neal Edelstein, producer of “The Ring” and “Mulholland Drive,” and Hooked Digital Media, the app-only horror film’s aim is to create a visceral reaction in viewers as soon as they see a push notification for a new chapter on their screen. → Read More
Is your Bitcoin stash burning a hole in your digital wallet? Bitfash is a new startup that wants to help you spend your bitcoins on clothing from top fashion brands.
Based in Australia and China, Bitfash serves as an intermediary between retailers and shoppers, allowing them to browse online stores through its web platform. Purchases are completed by paying bitcoins to Bitfash, which then… → Read More
Investors were unsettled by Zynga’s announcement that it is cutting 520 employees, or almost one-fifth of its workforce, with shares plummeting 12% to $2.99, before recovering slightly in after hours trading. Trading of Zynga shares were halted twice in the afternoon on the Nasdaq stock exchange, first for the layoff announcement and then again due to volatile trading during which the stock fell… → Read More
With projected revenue of $7 million this year and 100,000 monthly active users, EZTable is one of the top successes to have emerged from Taiwan’s young startup industry. Founded in 2008, the restaurant reservation platform is poised to launch in Southeast Asia and expand its presence in China. → Read More
Though Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading financial hubs, its startup industry is still embryonic. Incubator NEST Investments hopes to change that by helping tech companies take advantage of the region’s wealth and resources as they work toward entering the mainland Chinese market. → Read More
Mobile gaming startup Scopely has signed on former Zynga general manager Reed Shaffner to lead its product team. Shaffner will oversee games from Scopely’s developer partners as well as its infrastructure. → Read More
Video ad startup TubeMogul has closed the $10 million second tranche of its Series C funding, which it will use to expand in Asia. The funding is led by SingTel Innov8, the venture capital arm of SingTel Group. → Read More
Spotify has launched Discover, a news feed that allows users to see recommendations, songs and playlists based on their favorite music. The feature, which was first rolled out last month in a limited release, is currently available on Spotify’s new Web client and will eventually be launched in the music-streaming platform’s desktop and mobile apps. → Read More
After more than a year of speculation and delays, Amazon Kindle e-readers and tablets will reportedly be available for sale in China on June 7. E-readers like the Paperwhite and Kindle Fire tablets will be sold on Amazon China’s website, as well as Tesco stores operated by retail conglomerate Suning. Amazon Kindle kiosks have already been spotted in a Beijing Tesco, Sina Tech reports (link… → Read More
Alibaba Group officially launched (link via Google Translate) the China Smart Logistics Network (CSN) today, which former Alibaba CEO Jack Ma says will become the backbone of the country’s $190 billion e-commerce market. The network, which will be able to deliver shipments to any city in China within 24 hours, is slated for completion in 8 to 10 years. → Read More
Social news site and meme aggregator Buzzfeed is partnering with CNN and YouTube to create a new online-video channel called “CNN BuzzFeed” that will be unveiled later today. Chief operating officer Jon Steinberg told the Wall Street Journal that BuzzFeed plans to invest a low “eight-digit sum” over two years in the video platform. → Read More
Samsung has yet to officially confirm the Galaxy S4 mini, but the smartphone’s brief appearance on the company’s app store earlier today backs up rumors of a summer launch. The listing was spotted and screencapped by TGspot (link via Google Translate) before it was removed. → Read More
Video ad network Tremor Video has filed for its long-awaited public offering. The company’s shares will trade on the NYSE at TRMR and it wants to raise at least $86 million. → Read More
Mobile payment platform Square has announced that it is now publicly available in Japan, its first country outside of North America. The iPhone is very popular in Japan, making it a potentially strong crossover market for Square, which first launched on iOS before also becoming available on Android. → Read More
OtterBox, which makes the top-selling protective case for smartphones, has announced the acquisition of LifeProof for an undisclosed amount. News of the acquisition comes one day after a lawsuit filed by OtterBox against LifeProof for patent infringement was dismissed. → Read More
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has hit 10 million channel sales one month after its release. The company announced its latest milestone today just eight days after confirming that it had shipped over 6 million units of the S4 since its international launch on April 26. According to Samsung, this is the fastest ever sell rate for any of its smartphones. → Read More
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