Here's How Temasek Is Going All Out With Blockchain & AI The investment firm is looking to explore opportunities in these two technologies

By Nidhi Singh

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock

Investors are not shying away from investing in new emerging, technologies. Both blockchain and artificial intelligence are grabbing massive amounts of investment attention. The recent one is Singapore's investment company Temasek that is setting new groups to explore opportunities in these two technologies.

As per an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, the company is creating so-called "experimental pods" to focus on these two areas, which it sees as long-term trends impacting multiple industries and geographies.

The new group will be overseen by Chia Song Hwee, the chief operating officer of key management arm Temasek International.

The Temasek spokesman said in an emailed response to Bloomberg queries, "We have been expanding our business coverage and geographic footprint over the past few years. As our operating environment evolves, our focus is on remaining nimble and well-positioned to capture opportunities that deliver sustainable value over the long term."

The memo also added that Temasek is also setting up a new Strategic Initiatives unit, seeking greater agility for opportunistic deals requiring fast turnaround and senior-level assessment. The unit, which can pull in resources from other parts of the company, will be led by Tan Chong Lee, who is head of Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as South-east Asia.

"As the investment landscape becomes more competitive and complex, we are now seeing more situations where we would benefit from collaboration and specialized capabilities wider than our traditional sector and market team approach," Temasek added in the memo.

The memo shows that the firm sees Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand as "engagement markets" where it will primarily focus on institutional network building.

Past Investments

This is not the first time when Temasek and shown keen interest in these two technologies. In April, China's leading AI company SenseTime Group Ltd. raised US$600 million in its Series C round of funding from Alibaba Group, Temasek Holdings and other investors. With the mission of leading AI innovation to power the future, SenseTime has independently developed a deep learning platform, supercomputing centres, and a range of AI technologies such as face recognition, image recognition, object recognition, text recognition, medical image analysis, video analysis, autonomous driving, and remote sensing.

Another AI startup Rokid raised US$100 million in a Series B extension round of funding, led by Temasek Holdings in January. Hangzhou-based Rokid specializes in the research and product development of Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

Recently, the investment firm has also invested in Blockchain Software Company and the global banking group R3. Enterprise blockchain software firm R3 is working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop Corda, their open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version for enterprise usage.

Nidhi Singh

Former Correspondent, Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific

A self confessed Bollywood Lover, Travel junkie and Food Evangelist.I like travelling and I believe it is very important to take ones mind off the daily monotony .

Leadership

How to Build a Resilient Team That Thrives in Uncertainty

Learn how to build a team that stays calm under pressure, adapts quickly and grows stronger in the face of change, no matter what the market throws your way.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Finds a Buyer in One Day for Her $12 Million 'Palace in the Sky' Penthouse

Corcoran bought the duplex co-op for $10 million in 2015 and spent $2 million renovating it.

Business News

College Professors Are Turning to ChatGPT to Generate Course Materials. One Student Noticed — and Asked for a Refund.

AI use in higher education is becoming more popular for students and professors.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

You Can Now Order Food and Book a Massage on Airbnb. Here's How.

Airbnb redesigned its app and added a host of new services.

Growing a Business

Is It Time to Pivot Your Business? 3 Clear Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

Pivots can be uncomfortable, even scary. But they're often necessary for survival. The key is knowing when and how to do it right.