Catherine Shu
Writer
The Latest from Catherine Shu
BRD’s Blockset unveils its white-label cryptocurrency wallet for banks and other enterprise clients
Blockset, the blockchain infrastructure platform for enterprises by BRD, announced early access to its wallet-as-a-service today. The white-label solution gives clients, like financial institutions, t
Vietnamese flexible pay startup Nano raises $3M seed round
Nano Technologies, a startup that lets workers in Vietnam access their earned wages immediately through an app called VUI, has raised $3 million in seed funding. The oversubscribed round was led by re
Planck, the insurance data analytics platform, raises $20M growth round
Planck, the AI-based data platform for commercial insurance underwriting, announced today it has raised a $20 million growth round. The funding came from 3L Capital and Greenfield Partners, along with
Artist Drue Kataoka will auction her first NFT, with all proceeds going to Asian American causes
Drue Kataoka’s art has made it to collections in 30 countries — and even the International Space Station. Now the artist, activist and current face of Clubhouse’s app icon is releasing her f
Serial fiction app Radish acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440M
Serialized fiction app Radish will be acquired by Kakao Entertainment in a transaction valued at $440 million. Kakao Entertainment is owned by Kakao, the South Korean internet giant whose services inc
Aspire’s business accounts reach $1B in annualized transaction volume one year after launching
Singapore-based Aspire, which wants to become the financial services “one-stop shop” for SMEs, announced that its business accounts have reached $1 billion in annualized transaction volume one yea
GajiGesa, a fintech focused on Indonesian workers, adds strategic investors and launches new app for micro-SMEs
GajiGesa, a fintech startup that provides earned wage access (EWA) and other services for workers in Indonesia, has added strategic investors to help it launch new services and expand its user base. I
Founded by former Carousell and Fave execs, Rainforest gets $36M to consolidate Asia-Pacific Amazon Marketplace brands
Singapore-based Rainforest is one of the newest entrants in the wave of startups that “roll-up” small e-commerce brands. Launched in January by alumni from some of Southeast Asia’s top startups,
Una Brands launches with $40M to roll up brands on multiple Asia-Pacific e-commerce platforms
One of the biggest funding trends of the past year is companies that consolidate small e-commerce brands. Many of the most notable startups in the space, like Thrasio, Berlin Brands Group and Branded
‘Knowledge-as-a-service’ platform Lynk announces collaboration with UBS
Lynk, the “knowledge-as-a-service” platform, announced today it has entered into a strategic alliance with UBS to help the investment process of their institutional clients around the world. The
Fewcents raises $1.6M to help publishers take payments for individual articles, videos and podcasts
Many publishers are focused on converting visitors to subscribers, but there’s another important bracket: people who want to view a premium article or video, but not enough to sign up for a subscrip
IAC’s NurseFly rebrands to Vivian Health as it expands its healthcare jobs marketplace
NurseFly, the healthcare jobs marketplace owned by IAC, has rebranded to Vivian Health as it expands its range of services. Originally launched for traveling nurses (or nurses willing to travel for sh
Hangry, an Indonesian cloud kitchen startup with plans to become a global F&B company, closes $13M Series A
Hangry, an Indonesian cloud kitchen startup that wants to become a global food and beverage company, has raised a $13 million Series A. The round was led by returning investor Alpha JWC Ventures and i
Bibit raises another growth round led by Sequoia Capital India, this time for $65M
Four months after leading a $30 million growth round in Bibit, Sequoia Capital India has doubled down on its investment in the Indonesian robo-advisor app. Bibit announced today that the firm led a ne
Indonesian consumer research startup Populix gets $1.2M in pre-Series A funding
Indonesia is one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world, but consumer data is still hard to find for many businesses, especially smaller ones. Populix wants to make research easier for c
Super, an Indonesian hyperlocal social commerce startup, raises $28M led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
In Indonesia, daily necessities often cost more in smaller cities and rural areas. Super co-founder and chief executive officer Steven Wongsoredjo said the price difference can vary from about 10% to
Arc opens its remote career platform to all software developers
The COVID-19 pandemic threw remote work into the spotlight, but tech companies have hired in other locations for years to deal with talent shortages. Arc announced today it is opening its remote hirin
Location data analytics startup Placer.ai raises $50M Series B
It’s been a very tough year for Placer.ai’s core customer segments of retail and commercial real estate, to put it mildly. But the foot traffic and location analytics startup saw growth in new cat
Founded by Australia’s national science agency, Main Sequence launches $250M AUD deep tech fund
Main Sequence, the venture firm founded by Australia’s national science agency, announced today a new $250 million AUD (about $194.3 million USD) fund to invest in deep tech startups. This is Main S
Robo-advisor StashAway gets $25M Series D led by Sequoia Capital India
Investment app StashAway has raised a $25 million Series D led by Sequoia Capital India, with participation from returning investors Eight Roads Ventures and Square Peg. After regulatory approvals for