Visualizing the Temasek startup network

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Hello reader,

I still feel like I’m a little on the younger side (feel free NOT to correct me), so I wasn’t around back in the ‘70s or ‘80s when Singapore had yet to find some of its footing. As such, I grew up in relatively peaceful, prosperous circumstances, with the only exception being the Great Recession in 2008.

These days, I complain a lot on social media about government policies, especially when it comes to social issues. However, I have a lot of respect for how it has been very prudent in handling our money, and Temasek falls under this category too.

Without any natural resources, one of the most important ways for the country to stay financially secure – beyond its human capital – is to use money to make more money. As such, entities like Temasek have always been key in maintaining that secure environment I grew up in. And as the firm gets more involved as a venture builder, it can only be a good thing for our tech sector.

Today’s premium story takes a look at the role it plays in Singapore’s startup space, laying out all its investments and related activities with various tech firms in an excellent visual story. If you’re a sucker for beautiful data, this one’s for you.

Today we look at:

• The many fingers of Temasek – and the pies they’re in
• EFishery gobbling up an AI-powered IoT startup
• Other newsy highlights such as the former CEO of Alibaba joining a Chinese VC firm and Pocket FM’s US$103 million series D round

Premium summary

What’s Temasek cooking?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

With around US$300 billion in assets, I’m reasonably certain Temasek knows its stuff. As such, it’s great to see that it hasn’t forgotten about startups and is actively trying to get involved with them. My colleague Collin Furtado digs deeper in this story.

• Growing the oven: Just three years ago, Temasek’s role as a venture builder was rather small, as it only had nine companies under it. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 50, with 15 of them being startups.
• Fine, I’ll do it myself: This momentum of creating its own startups has led to Temasek launching a venture-building company called Menyala in 2022.
• Money isn’t the only green it wants: The firm sees a lot of opportunities in climate tech – the majority of its funding deals in the last three years have gone to startups in the sector. It has also launched two climate tech firms: Climate Impact X and Sydrogen Energy.

Read more: Mapping Temasek’s role in the startup space (updated)

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