Catherine Shu

Twelve stories in 2021 Q2 marked Catherine Shu’s coverage peak, followed by a narrower run centered on Southeast Asian startup financing and TechCrunch’s retrenchment.

Who they are

Catherine Shu appears in this corpus as a TechCrunch journalist, with every associated article tied to the outlet. Her coverage spans major technology platforms and devices but is especially associated with startups and digital-business developments in Singapore, Jakarta and the wider Indonesian market.

The recent arc

The highest recent concentration came in 2022 Q1, before coverage slowed through 2023 and into 2024. The stories in this later period are dominated by funding and operating milestones for Southeast Asian companies: Jakarta-based Akulaku’s $200 million investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Kredivo’s $270 million Series D led by Mizuho Bank, and Praktis’s $20 million Series A led by East Ventures.

The tension

The coverage repeatedly circles the contrast between capital flowing into Southeast Asian fintech, payments, insurance and software companies and the tougher operating backdrop for technology media. Singapore companies including YouTrip, BandLab Technologies and Bolttech feature as funding recipients, while the most recent item reports TechCrunch’s plan to wind down its TC+ subscription product and cut staff amid industry-wide cutbacks.

Why it matters

If this trajectory holds, Shu’s corpus will remain a useful signal of which Southeast Asian startup categories can still attract substantial institutional backing, particularly financial services and business software. At the same time, the TC+ wind-down suggests that the outlets documenting those companies face their own economic constraints, which could affect the breadth and continuity of startup coverage even where investment remains active.

Related: TechCrunch · Singapore · Jakarta · Indonesia · SMBs