Peter Cowan · · 4 min readBig or small, investors go all in on AI
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In focus
- Why Temasek is all in on AI
- Meet the VC firm outsourcing analysts’ work to agents
- Witty repartee coming to a chatbot near you?
Hello reader,
Today’s newsletter features a tale of two investment firms, one small and one large. What do they have in common? Aside from being Singaporean, the big commonality is AI and its increasingly large role in how they do business.
Our first story from my colleague Melissa dives into the performance of state-backed behemoth Temasek over the last financial year. The investor’s net portfolio value jumped 14.8% to US$401 billion, and while it invests in a wide variety of assets, it’s clear that Temasek sees AI as key to repeating such solid results.
The firm plans to potentially more than double its exposure to AI over the next five years in companies at a variety of market segments and maturity stages. Placing bets across the board is a luxury that a deep-pocketed investor has.
Investors like VC firm 1MX AI, with a fund of US$15 million to deploy, don’t have that same flexibility. All the same, AI is leaving its mark on how the firm invests but in perhaps a more day-to-day way.
As Elyssa’s story explores, 1MX AI has a lean team and uses an AI agent to source deals and vet potential investments. The company says this saves it from hiring more analysts, allowing it to do more with less.
Different budgets, same bet.
Peter Cowan, engagement editor
Top Stories
1️⃣ Temasek to double down on AI as portfolio value hits $401b
Temasek’s leadership team / Image credit: Ulla
The firm made investments in both OpenAI and Anthropic last year as part of its push to have 6% of its overall portfolio involved in AI. However, the bulk of its AI exposure is to later-stage firms like Nvidia and Alphabet.
While Southeast Asia’s place in the AI sector might be hotly debated, Temasek said it doesn’t choose its targets for AI investments based on geography.
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