Making sense of GIC’s role in the startup space

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hello reader,

We have all mistaken someone for another every now and then. It’s slightly embarrassing to think back on the number of times I called strangers “mom” or the even worse-sounding “mommy” at the mall. Cue the awkward silence and sheepish apology.

I, too, am a frequent victim of mistaken identity as I’m almost always confused for my brother, who is a cool five years older than me. It’s somewhat appalling considering I’m the more handsome one, but frankly I’d rather have his bank account.

Funnily, I believe Temasek would sympathize with me. The Singapore state-owned investment major is often inaccurately referred to as a sovereign wealth fund (SWF).

But today’s featured story spotlights the city-state’s actual SWF, so don’t worry about confusing one for the other again.

Read on to figure out how GIC (formerly Government of Singapore Corporation) has gone about accomplishing its mandate of achieving good long-term returns over global inflation, and why it considers itself a fairly conservative investor compared to Temasek.

Today we look at:

• GIC’s influence in the tech ecosystem
• The mind-blowing potential of the generative AI space
• Other newsy highlights such as GoTo’s new boss and Animoca co-founder’s views on AI and blockchain

Premium summary

I’m the real SWF

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Established in 1981, GIC places diversification and caution at the top of its investment criteria – which makes sense considering it’s in charge of managing Singapore’s foreign reserves. This stance has cushioned its performance from the market correction that occurred in early 2022.

It also explains why GIC generally steers clear of high-risk investments, with most of its bets being in the public markets.

• Topping the leaderboard: GIC was the lead investor among sovereign funds in 2022, with US$40.3 billion deployed last year, up 17% from 2021, according to Global SWF, which tracks investments made by state-owned investors. The SWF made 73 deals in total last year.
• Banking on finance: The sovereign fund tells Tech in Asia that it sees particular growth potential in enterprise software as well as fintech. In fact, fintech investments make up a chunk of GIC’s startup portfolio, with many of its fintech deals concentrated in India.
• Home comforts of sorts: While there’s an argument against SWFs investing in domestic firms, only a handful of GIC’s startup investments are in Singapore. GIC only invests in local startups if they have a majority of their operations outside the country. Some examples include JustCo, Trax, Nansen, Coda Payments, and Envision Digital.

All in on AI

Quick bytes