Catherine Shu
Writer
The Latest from Catherine Shu
New defense bill bans the U.S. government from using Huawei and ZTE tech
U.S. government agencies will be forbidden from using certain components or services from several Chinese tech firms, including Huawei and ZTE. The ban was signed into law today by President Trump as
The DNC’s lawyers subpoena WikiLeaks with a tweet
In a very unusual move, WikiLeaks has been subpoenaed via Twitter. In a tweet on Friday, a law firm representing the Democratic National Convention in its civil lawsuit against WikiLeaks and other def
Taiwan startup FunNow gets $5M Series A to help locals in Asian cities find last-minute things to do
“Instant booking” apps that let tourists sign up for activities on very short notice have been in the news a lot lately, partly because of Klook’s new unicorn status, but also because of the pro
Amazon is working with the FTC’s fraud investigation against Sellers Playbook
Amazon said today it is working with the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into consumer fraud allegedly committed by Sellers Playbook, a Minnesota-based business that claimed to help Amazon
Now even YouPorn has banned Alex Jones, but he’s still on Twitter
Streaming adult video site YouPorn, announced today that it has banned Alex Jones from its platform, following actions against the conspiracy-monger by tech companies including Apple, Facebook, YouTub
Kinside wants families to make the most of their dependent care flexible spending accounts
The cost of childcare is one of the biggest financial burdens American families face. Even dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax benefit accounts meant to reduce caregiving costs, can be
Skyline AI raises $18M Series A for its machine learning-based real estate investment tech
A mere four months after coming out of stealth mode with $3 million in seed funding, real estate investment startup Skyline AI announced that it has raised an $18 million Series A. The round was led b
Samsung reports Q2 profit slowdown, says Galaxy S9 sales were lower than expected
Struggling against competition from Chinese smartphones, Samsung Electronics posted a lackluster second-quarter earnings report with its slowest profit growth in more than a year. On the bright side,
Bus-sharing app Shuttl gets $11M Series B from investors including Amazon India
Shuttl, a service that lets Indian city dwellers find seats on multiple bus routes through one app, announced today that it has raised a $11 million Series B led by Amazon India, Amazon Alexa Fund and
Twitter says it does not shadow ban, despite complaints by Republicans
After President Donald Trump accused Twitter of “shadow banning” prominent Republicans, the company denied that it uses the practice, in which someone’s posts are made invisible or undiscoverabl
YouTube punishes Alex Jones’ channel for breaking policies against hate speech and child endangerment
Google confirmed it has issued a strike against Infowars founder Alex Jones’ YouTube channel for breaking the video platform’s policies against child endangerment and hate speech. Four videos wer
MentalHappy helps companies send custom care packages to employees going through a rough time
For many people, their workplaces become like a second family. More companies are recognizing this with better benefits such as longer family leave and wellness programs. But when an employee needs to
League raises $47.1M Series B to fix corporate health care benefits
League, an online platform that wants to reduce the strain of managing health benefits for companies and employees alike, announced today that it has raised a $62 million CAD (about $47.1 million USD)
Tesla reportedly asked suppliers for cash back to help it reach profitability
In an unusual move, Tesla reportedly asked some suppliers to return part of the money it’s paid them since 2016, including for past work. According to the Wall Street Journal, which reviewed a
Certify acquires real-time expense management startup and YC alum Abacus
Expense management software provider Certify is beefing up its artillery against rival Concur with the acquisition of Abacus, which enables companies to deal with expenses in real time. The deal’s f
Online learning platform Unacademy gets $21M Series C from Sequoia India, SAIF and Nexus
Bangalore-based Unacademy will add more educators to its online learning platform, which claims to be India’s largest, after closing a $21 million Series C. The funding comes from Sequoia India, SAI
Elon Musk tweets he’ll ‘bet ya a signed dollar that Thai cave rescuer is a ‘pedo’
Elon Musk seems not only intent on burning all the goodwill he earned for trying to help last week’s Thai cave rescue, but rolling around in its ashes, too. In a series of extraordinarily offensive,
Headout lands $10M Series A to help tourists book last-minute outings
Imagine being in a new city with a few hours to kill, but no idea what to do. Headout is a travel app that enables tourists to book outings at very short notice, in most cases on the same day. The sta
Japanese startup Paidy raises $55M Series C to let people shop online without a credit card
Paidy, a fintech startup that enables Japanese consumers to shop online without using a credit card, announced today that it has raised a $55 million Series C. The round was led by Japanese trade cong
Tiger Global reportedly pours more than $1B into SoftBank, saying its shares are “undervalued”
Tiger Global has poured more than $1 billion into SoftBank Group, according to the Financial Times. The newspaper reports that the firm told investors SoftBank’s shares are “meaningfully undervalu