Latest from Catherine Shu
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Don’t ignore Asia tech
A lot can change in 12 years. When I joined TechCrunch in 2012, I was the only writer it had based out of Asia. For several years, it often felt like I was writing to correct misperceptions I saw in my articles’ comments or on Twitter. Even though Baidu, Alibaba…
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‘Taiwan needs to find its own groove’: A plea to the next president
Once Lai Ching-te is inaugurated as Taiwan’s president in May, his administration will mark an unprecedented three terms of Democratic Progressive Party rule. His victory underscored the desire of voters to maintain the status quo, even as Taiwan continues to deal with the looming specter of China. Soon after he…
A growing roster of vertical AI startups is emerging in Southeast Asia to serve sectors ranging from seafood to finance. Singapore-based venture capital firm Antler recently made a bet on…
In a role reversal, Xalts, a Singapore fintech startup founded 18 months ago, has acquired Contour Network, a digital trade platform set up by eight major banks including HSBC, Standard…
Over the past few decades, extreme weather events have not only become more severe, but are also occurring more frequently. Neara is focused on enabling utility companies and energy providers…
Wingman Ventures is seeking the best of Switzerland’s startups, and its diverse portfolio already ranges from mobile commerce to robotics. The Zurich-based venture capital firm, which focuses on pre-seed startups,…
After recent launches in the United Kingdom and Ireland, workforce management platform Rippling is continuing its ambitious international expansion with the opening of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Sydney, Australia today.…
There’s an acute shortage of radiologists around the world, which means it is harder for medical teams to get imaging studies done. As a result, more than 200 companies have…
Startup p0 is named after catastrophic events that can cause a platform to crash, leading to potential security breaches and loss of customer trust in businesses. Those are the problems…
While running a bar in Melbourne, Katy Barfield was taken aback by the large amount of ingredients thrown out at the end of each day. After doing some research, she…
When TechCrunch first covered gift registry platform Thankful Registry eleven years ago, its philosophy was turning the act of asking for gifts into a mindful process, instead of a greedy…
In the middle of a long funding winter, AC Ventures’ latest news will give Southeast Asian startups hope. The Jakarta, Indonesia–based venture firm announced today it has raised $210 million,…
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Taiwan’s president-elect faces growing challenges with its chip industry
Lai Ching-te, who won Taiwan’s presidential election last Saturday, will be facing a crossroads in the country’s technology industry when he takes office in May. Lai’s administration will be the third term of Democratic Progressive Party rule in Taiwan, and he is widely expected to continue the work of his…
Founded in 2007 to help IP and R&D professionals do their jobs more efficiently, Singapore-based Patsnap‘s first product was a global patent search database. Now it’s building out its suite…
After using Figma to create user interfaces and experiences, developers are left with the hefty task of coding the designs in order to create functional websites or apps. Locofy, a…
Schools in the United States are already struggling with a teacher shortage. For students with thinking and learning differences, it’s even harder to find teachers and other specialists that are…
Sydney, Australia-based Leonardo.Ai is one of the latest generative AI startups to raise funding. Today, the AI art production platform for consumers and enterprise users announced a $31 million USD…
Indonesia’s construction industry is growing quickly, driven by residential and industrial building, alongside infrastructure development plans by the government. Sourcing skilled labor is still a time-intensive process, however, and often…
In Western markets, freight forwarders are well into digitizing their operations, but the same doesn’t hold true in Southeast Asia, say the founders of Fr8Labs. The reasons for that include…
FEBE Ventures’ name stands for “For Entrepreneurs By Entrepreneurs,” and true to form, it is continuing to support seed-stage startups with the launch of its second fund. Targeting $75 million,…
Hussain Elius is best known as the co-founder of Pathao, one of Bangladesh’s top ridesharing apps. For his latest startup, however, Elius is exploring the world of DeFi with Wind.app,…
Textiles and garments contribute 16% of Vietnam’s total GPD, but it’s challenging for small garment brands to take advantage of the country’s manufacturing prowess. Inflow is stepping into the gap,…
When Maha Shahzad was 19, she was forced to drop out of junior college in Southern California because of a six-hour daily commute. When she moved to Pakistan for work,…
Founded by an expert on geography and globalization, Climate Alpha’s AI-based platform helps real estate owners and investors analyze the impact of climate change on their portfolios. The Singapore-based startup…
For a lot of companies, Scope 3 emissions make up the bulk of their carbon footprint, but are time-consuming and expensive for them to track. As more regulation mandating Scope…
Customer data-syncing startup Hightouch announced today it has acquired HeadsUp. As part of the deal, HeadsUp co-founder Earl Lee will join Hightouch, working on Customer 360, a product that uses…
The Australian government recently set new packaging regulations after an official review found just 18% of plastic packaging is recycled, falling far short of a 70% target by 2025. Refilled,…
E-commerce in Southeast Asia grew rapidly during the pandemic, and that momentum is continuing. A McKinsey report found that between now and 2026, the market is expected to triple at…
Blackbird invests in Carepatron’s ‘radically accessible’ healthcare management platform
When TechCrunch covered Carepatron’s pre-seed last year, the startup was focused on serving solo practitioners and small health practices. Now the healthcare management system has scaled along with its clients,…
Dashtoon wants to make anyone with a story to tell into a comic-artist, even if they can’t draw. It provides aspiring comics creator with a suite of generative AI tools,…