Temasek

Temasek is Singapore's sovereign wealth fund and one of the investors backing Tropic Biosciences, the Norwich-based gene-editing agriculture startup that raised $105m in its Series B. The investment illustrates Temasek's growing appetite for synthetic biology and food security assets, a strategic priority driven by Singapore's dependence on food imports and its long-term position as a hub for Asian agricultural technology. In June 2026, Temasek anchored the funding round that valued UK AI-for-engineering startup PhysicsX at $2.4bn, the latest in a sequence of deep-tech bets the fund has made on British startups with strong physical-science foundations.

Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Singapore government, Temasek manages a portfolio of approximately S$389bn (around $290bn USD) across technology, financials, life sciences, consumer, and real assets. Unlike many sovereign wealth funds, Temasek operates as an active investor, often taking board representation and engaging with management strategy rather than simply holding passive stakes. It has backed companies including Alibaba, DBS Group, and Singapore Airlines.

Temasek's presence in a UK agri-biotech round is consistent with its stated mandate to invest in the long-term wellbeing of Singapore, which the fund interprets broadly to include global food system resilience. For Tropic Biosciences, the backing of a sovereign investor with deep Asian market relationships is strategically valuable: banana disease resistance and crop trait editing have the largest potential markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, precisely the regions Temasek is best positioned to help navigate.