Catherine Shu
Writer
The Latest from Catherine Shu
Singapore-based Raena gets $9M Series A for its pivot to skincare and beauty-focused social commerce
Raena was founded in 2019 to create personal care brands with top social media influencers. After several launches, however, the Singapore-based startup noticed an interesting trend: customers were or
Customer data platform Lexer raises $25.5M Series B for global expansion
The massive shift to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic means retailers need to analyze customer data quickly in order to compete against rivals like Amazon. Lexer, a customer data platform
Rainmaking launches Motion Ventures to boost innovation in the maritime industry
A new fund has launched, with backing from the Singaporean government, to support tech innovation for the maritime industry. Called Motion Ventures, it is targeting $30 million SGD (about $22.8 millio
Plant-based food startup Next Gen lands $10M seed round from investors including Temasek
Singapore is quickly turning into a hub for food-tech startups, partly because of government initiatives supporting the development of meat alternatives. One of the newest entrants is Next Gen, which
ErudiFi raises $5 million Series A to give students in Southeast Asia more education financing options
ErudiFi wants to help more students in Southeast Asia stay in school by giving them affordable financing options. Headquartered in Singapore, with operations in Indonesia and the Philippines, the star
Facebook to restore news sharing in Australia after government amends proposed law
Facebook said it will begin restoring news sharing to Australian users’ feeds in “the coming days” after reaching an agreement with the country’s government. The social media g
Indonesian investment platform FUNDtastic lands $7.7 million Series A
Despite the market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, retail investing is increasing in Indonesia, especially among people aged 18 to 30. Today, investment platform FUNDtastic announced it has raised a
App monitoring platform Sentry gets $60 million Series D at $1 billion valuation
Application performance monitoring startup Sentry announced today that it has reached unicorn status, raising a $60 million Series D with a post-funding valuation of $1 billion. The round was led by A
Maya, a startup focused on accessible healthcare in Asia, raises $2.2 million seed for regional expansion
Maya is dedicated to making it easier for women to get healthcare, especially for sensitive issues like reproductive and mental health. Now the startup, based in Bangladesh and incorporated in Singapo
GajiGesa, a fintech startup serving underbanked Indonesian workers, raises $2.5 million seed round
GajiGesa, a fintech company that offers Earned Wage Access (EWA) and other services for workers in Indonesia, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Defy.vc and Quest Venture
Grab announces program to help increase COVID-19 vaccinations in Southeast Asia
Grab, the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and on-demand delivery giant, announced a program to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations today. Its goal is to have all of its employees, as well as driver
Bot MD, an AI-based chatbot for doctors, raises $5 million for expansion into more Asian markets
Time is critical for healthcare providers, especially in the middle of the pandemic. Singapore-based Bot MD helps save time with an AI-based chatbot that lets doctors look up important information fro
BukuWarung, a startup digitizing Indonesia’s SMEs, raises new funding from Rocketship.vc
BukuWarung, an Indonesian startup focused on digitizing the country’s 60 million small businesses, announced today it has raised new funding from Rocketship.vc and an Indonesian retail conglomer
DesignCrowd raises $10 million AUD to grow its DIY platform, BrandCrowd
DesignCrowd announced today it has raised $10 million AUD (about $7.6 billion USD) in pre-IPO funding. The capital will be used on hiring and product development, with the goal of accelerating the gro
English learning app ELSA lands $15 million Series B for international growth and its B2B platform
Speaking is one of the hardest parts of learning a new language, especially if you don’t have someone to practice with regularly. ELSA is an app that helps by using speech recognition technology to
Internet connectivity drops in Myanmar after the military detains Aung San Suu Kyi and other leading politicians
Access to the internet in Myanmar dropped sharply after the military detained leaders of ruling party National League for Democracy, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a state of emergency. The
Huawei’s struggles hurt overall smartphone shipments in China, but rivals like Apple found new opportunities
The impact of United States government sanctions on Huawei is continuing to hurt the company and dampen overall smartphone shipments in China, where it is the largest smartphone vendor, according to a
Stilt, a financial services provider for immigrants, raises $100 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank
Stilt, a provider of financial services for immigrants in the United States, announced today it has raised a $100 million warehouse facility from Silicon Valley Bank for lending to its customers. This
Lynk, a “knowledge-as-a-service” platform with more than 840,000 experts, raises $24 million
Lynk, a “knowledge-as-a-service” platform that connects clients with over 840,000 experts in a wide range of fields, announced today it has raised $24 million led by Brewer Lane Ventures a
LottieFiles, a platform for the animation format, lands $9 million Series A led by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund
LottieFiles, a platform for JSON-based Lottie animations, has raised a Series A of $9 million. The round was led by M12, Microsoft’s venture capital arm, with participation from returning investor 5