Adani Gives Temasek Smooth Exit From Air India Turbulence

Adani Group has offered Temasek a strategic exit route from its troubled Air India investment by bringing the Singapore sovereign fund into Adani Airports, where Temasek now joins BlackRock, Premji Invest, and Alpha Wave in a $1 billion equity deal. This effectively shifts Temasek’s exposure from the loss-making Air India to Adani’s fast-growing airport platform.

Notably, Temasek itself never directly invested in Air India. Its exposure came through its majority ownership of Singapore Airlines (SIA), which acquired a 25.1% stake in Air India in January 2024 after the merger of Vistara (a Tata–SIA joint venture launched in 2013) with Air India.

The official Adani Airports press release (Sept 9, 2026) did not mention Temasek’s “exit route” from Air India. It was a straightforward disclosure of the $1 billion equity raise, listing Temasek alongside BlackRock, Premji Invest, and Alpha Wave Global as new investors, and highlighting valuation, capacity expansion, and Airport City projects.

It is to be noted that the “exit route” framing — that Temasek was effectively shifting exposure away from Air India’s losses into Adani’s profitable airport platform — came from media analysis and commentary, not from Adani’s own statement. Outlets like Business Standard, Financial Express, and Moneycontrol reported the deal based on Adani’s filing, but the narrative about Temasek escaping the “Air India mess” was constructed by journalists and analysts interpreting the strategic implications.

What’s Happening

• Adani Airports Fundraise: Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL) raised ₹9,825 crore ($1 billion) by selling 5.54% stake to a consortium including Temasek, BlackRock, Premji Invest, and Alpha Wave Global.
• Valuation: The deal values AAHL at $18 billion pre-money, making it the third most valuable airport operator globally after Spain’s Aena and Airports of Thailand.
• Temasek’s Shift: Temasek, previously entangled in Air India’s financial struggles, now gains exposure to Adani’s profitable airport ecosystem — a move seen as a “ticket out” of the Air India mess.

Why This Matters

• Air India’s Burden: Temasek’s indirect exposure to Air India (via Singapore Airlines’ stake in Vistara and Tata Group’s merger with Air India) had been a drag due to mounting losses and integration challenges.
• Adani’s Advantage: By investing in Adani Airports, Temasek pivots to a high-growth infrastructure play — Adani operates 8 airports, including Mumbai, handling 25% of India’s passenger traffic and 33% of cargo volumes.
• Capacity Expansion: Funds will double AAHL’s passenger capacity to 200 million annually and finance 22 million sq. ft. of Airport City developments (hotels, offices, malls, logistics).

Strategic Comparison

Factor	Temasek in Air India	Temasek in Adani Airports
Exposure	Loss-making airline, heavy debt	Profitable airport infra
Valuation	Air India: uncertain, state-backed	Adani Airports: $18B pre-money
Growth Outlook	Integration challenges, duopoly with IndiGo	Doubling capacity, Airport City projects
Risk Profile	High operational risk	Diversified infra + commercial hubs

Risks & Trade-offs

• Regulatory Scrutiny: Adani’s dominance in airports raises concerns about conflict of interest if it enters airlines.
• Execution Risk: Scaling to 200M passengers requires huge capex and operational efficiency.
• Temasek’s Reputation: While this move reduces exposure to Air India, Temasek may face questions about backing Adani amid past controversies.

Key Takeaway

Temasek’s pivot from Air India to Adani Airports is a strategic de-risking move, swapping a struggling airline stake for a high-value infrastructure platform. For Adani, Temasek’s entry adds global credibility and capital to fuel its ambition of building one of the world’s leading airport ecosystems.

Haldiram's to Sell 10% Stake to Temasek

Haldiram Snacks Food, India's leading snacks and sweets company, has announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based investment firm Temasek. Temasek will acquire a 10% equity stake in Haldiram Snacks Food at a valuation of $10 billion (approximately ₹85,000 crore). This deal is considered the largest private equity consumer transaction in India.

The investment will support Haldiram's ambitious expansion plans, both domestically and internationally, enhancing its presence in the competitive global snacks market. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close soon.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close soon.

Additionally, Haldiram is reportedly in discussions to sell an additional 5-6% stake, potentially raising another $500 million. This could further bolster its growth initiatives.

The Indian snacks market is projected to grow significantly, from ₹42,694.9 crore in 2023 to ₹95,521.8 crore by 2032. This positions Haldiram well for future growth.

Haldiram's journey from its humble beginnings in 1937 in Bikaner, Rajasthan, to becoming a global brand with products sold in over 80 countries is remarkable. This partnership with Temasek marks another milestone in its growth story.

The funds raised will be used to support Haldiram's ambitious expansion plans, both domestically and internationally. The company aims to strengthen its presence in the competitive global snacks market.

PwC's investment banking team acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction, while Khaitan & Co provided legal advisory services.

JSW Energy Acquiring Temasek-Co-owned O2 Power for $1.47 Bn

JSW Neo Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Energy, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire O2 Power Pooling's renewable energy platform for an enterprise valuation of $1.47 billion (approximately ₹12,468 crore). 

This acquisition, which is expected to be completed by May 26, will significantly boost JSW Energy's renewable energy capacity and help it achieve its target of 20 GW capacity by 2030.

The acquisition is JSW Energy's largest since its inception and positions the company as a leading player in India's energy sector.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other customary regulatory clearances. The O2 Power platform boasts a majority of its capacity tied up under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with high-credit-rated off-takers.

O2 Power Pooling is a renewable energy platform jointly established by EQT Infrastructure and Temasek, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.

The O2 Power platform includes 2,259 MW of operational capacity, 1,463 MW under construction, and 974 MW in the pipeline, all scheduled to be commissioned by June 2027. This acquisition will increase JSW Energy's locked-in generation capacity by 23%, from 20,012 MW to 24,708 MW.

It's a major step for JSW Energy in expanding its renewable energy portfolio and strengthening its position in India's energy sector.

The O2 Power platform is spread across seven resource-rich states in India, and the acquisition will increase JSW Energy's locked-in generation capacity by 23%, from 20,012 MW to 24,708 MW.

Upgrad Raises $60 Mn in Series-F from Temasek at Valuation of $2.25 Bn

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, has invested an additional $60 million in Upgrad, an edtech startup focused on higher education and upskilling.

This Series-F round of funding values Upgrad at $2.25 billion.

Additionally, Upgrad's founder and chairman, Ronnie Screwvala, has bought out Bharti Enterprises' stake in the company for $20 million, increasing his ownership to 45%. Upgrad is planning to go public within the next 7-8 quarters.

This comes within a week after Upgrad's MD, Mayank Kumar, stepped down from the company.

Temasek has been a consistent investor in Upgrad. Temasek participated in Upgrad's Series E funding round, contributing ₹81 crore (approximately $10 million) in 2023.

With the latest $60 million investment in the Series F round, Temasek's total stake in Upgrad is now 17-18%.

Upgrad has raised funds through multiple rounds of financing. Below is a summary of their previous funding rounds and the total funds raised:

1. Series A: Raised $15 million in 2015.

2. Series B: Raised $40 million in 2017.

3. Series C: Raised $50 million in 2018.

4. Series D: Raised $100 million in 2019.

5. Series E: Raised $120 million in 2021.

6. Series F: Raised $60 million from Temasek in 2024.

In total, Upgrad has raised $385 million across these funding rounds.

In April, Upgrad placed 55,000 learners in FY24, with strong hiring in fields like marketing, data, and tech 3. Approximately half of these placements were in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

Late last year, Upgrad reported a 96% rise in revenue to ₹1,194 crore (approximately $150 million) for the financial year 2023, although losses also widened by 67% to 1,142 crore (approximately $145 million).

Upgrad has attracted investments from several prominent investors over the years.

Besides Temasek, Ronnie Screwvala, Upgrad's founder and chairman, has also invested heavily in the company. Bharti Enterprises was an early investor but recently sold its stake to Ronnie Screwvala. IIFL Asset Management has also participated in Upgrad's funding rounds, along with Omidyar Network India, known for its focus on social impact. Educor Holdings has contributed to Upgrad's growth as well. These investors have collectively helped Upgrad raise a total of $385 million across various funding rounds.

Tata Sons Acquires Temasek's Entire Stake in Tata Play for Rs 835 Crore; Can Acquire Walt Disney's Stake Too

Tata Sons has increased its shareholding in Tata Play to 70% by acquiring a 10% stake from Temasek, the Singaporean government-owned investment firm, for about $100 million (approximately ₹835 crore).

Tata Play is Subscription based Satellite television (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A GSAT-10 and GSAT24 satellites.

This transaction has changed the ownership structure of Tata Play, which is India's largest direct-to-home (DTH) firm with 21 million subscribers.

The transaction has valued Tata Play at $1 billion, down from its pre-pandemic valuation target of $3 billion.

With this acquisition, Tata Play will now become a 70:30 joint venture between Tata Sons and Walt Disney. However, it's reported that Tata Sons may also be in talks with Disney to buy out its stake as well. Disney is considering an exit from Tata Play since DTH is a non-core business for the US entertainment firm.

Tata Sons is also reportedly in talks with Disney to buy out its 30% stake. If this happens, Tata Play could become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, which might result in significant changes in operations, content offerings, and business strategies.

This move comes after the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Tata Play was postponed due to tough market conditions, despite having received approval from SEBI in May 2023. Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, was established in 2001 and has a significant presence across India. Temasek had originally invested in the platform in 2007.

With Tata Sons increasing its stake to 70%, the company will have greater control over Tata Play's strategic decisions. This could lead to a more streamlined decision-making process and potentially a new strategic direction for the company.

Tata Play has intimated the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) about the change in shareholding, as required under the DTH rules. This ensures regulatory compliance and continuity of operations without legal hurdles.

The proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Tata Play was postponed due to tough market conditions. The change in ownership might revive discussions about the IPO, which could provide additional capital for Tata Play's expansion and debt reduction.

As Tata Play is a crucial consumer-facing business in the media and entertainment sector for the Tata Group, the increased stake could lead to better operational synergies within the group's companies.

Infosys and Temasek Extend Digital JV for 5 Years

Indian technology & IT services major, Infosys, has announced a five-year extension of its successful joint venture collaboration with Singapore based Temasek, a global investment firm. Infosys Compaz (“iCompaz”), the Infosys-Temasek joint venture (JV) company, has collaborated with large corporations in Southeast Asia on their digital transformation journeys, leveraging its deep technology expertise across cloud, data and analytics, cybersecurity, digital, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, among others.

It was in September 2018 when Infosys announced the formation of a JV called 'Infosys Compaz' (iCompaz) with Temasek, with a goal to strengthen its workforce foot print in Southeast Asia. Infosys has a 60% stake in iCompaz while Temasek holds 40% stake.

The extension underscores iCompaz’s commitment to growing its presence in Singapore and the broader Southeast Asian market. The region is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is a key market for growth. iCompaz.

Infosys has collaborated with Temasek on its technology transformation initiatives such as deploying new digital architecture, data applications and security infrastructure.

The announcement also deepens the commitment that Infosys had made in 2018, to invest in advanced technologies and capability-building, with the aim of delivering high-quality professional services and supporting the growth and development of its workforce.

iCompaz is powered by Infosys’ deep capabilities in business innovation through Infosys Cobalt, a set of services, solutions and platforms for enterprises to accelerate their cloud journey. Leveraging Infosys Topaz, an AI-first set of services, solutions and platforms using generative AI technologies, iCompaz will enable clients to create value from unprecedented innovations, pervasive efficiencies, and connected ecosystems.

Rao Baskara, Chief Technology Officer, Temasek, said, “We look forward to extending our collaboration and the next phase of growth of iCompaz as it continues to provide quality digital services to companies in Southeast Asia. This engagement also enhances Temasek’s capabilities, and enables us to harness the potential that digital transformation brings.”

Manohar Atreya, CEO, Infosys Compaz, said, "iCompaz has proven its expertise in the sphere of large-scale digital and IT transformation. We are delighted to extend this collaboration with Temasek, as we continue to leverage the global scale and depth of Infosys in intelligent AI platforms and data solutions, to help clients navigate their next journey in business transformation.”

Last month, Infosys joined hands with technology giant Microsoft and semiconductor major NVIDIA, with the aim to help enterprises worldwide, drive productivity gains with generative AI applications and solutions.

Earlier this month, Infosys announced the launch of Infosys Cobalt Airline Cloud (ICAC) a first-of-its-kind industry cloud offering designed for commercial airlines to help them accelerate their digital transformation journey. 

Temasek to Invest in Mahindra’s EV Subsidiary At A Valuation of Up To Rs. 80,580 Cr / $9.8 billion

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a leader in automotive, farm and services businesses, and Temasek, the Singapore-headquartered global investment firm, have executed a binding agreement for Temasek to invest Rs. 1200 crores into MEAL (Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited), the four-wheeler (4W) passenger electric vehicles company.

Temasek will invest Rs. 1200 crores in the form of Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (‘CCPS’) at a valuation of up to Rs. 80,580 crores, resulting in Temasek’s ownership of a 1.49% to 2.97% stake in MEAL.

Temasek will join British International Investments (BII) as an investor in MEAL. With this investment, Mahindra’s EV subsidiary’s valuation goes up by 15% from up to Rs. 70,070 crores to up to Rs. 80,580 crores. The breadth of global experience of these marquee investors will be valuable for MEAL. The amount invested is consistent with the Mahindra Group’s plan to minimize dilution.

Dr. Anish Shah, MD & CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said, “We are extremely delighted to have Temasek as a partner in our electric SUV journey. Globally known for their strong governance, Temasek’s investment is a step forward, as we execute our strategy towards future leadership in electric SUVs. The valuation of up to $9.8 billion is testimony to Mahindra’s EV business and the progress we have made in the journey towards scaling up the electric SUV portfolio.”

Mr. Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, commented, “We demonstrated Mahindra’s ambition to build a desirable global brand with the reveal of our born EV portfolio based on the INGLO platform in August 2022 in UK, which is on track for execution. By having Temasek as an investor, we have strengthened our global strategic partnerships and are targeting 20% to 30% of Mahindra SUVs sales from electric vehicles by 2030.”

Founded in 1945, the Mahindra Group is one of the largest and most admired multinational federation of companies with 260,000 employees in over 100 countries. It enjoys a leadership position in farm equipment, utility vehicles, information technology and financial services in India and is the world’s largest tractor company by volume. It has a strong presence in renewable energy, agriculture, logistics, hospitality, and real estate. The Mahindra Group has a clear focus on leading ESG globally, enabling rural prosperity and enhancing urban living, with a goal to drive positive change in the lives of communities and stakeholders to enable them to Rise.

Temasek is a global investment company with a net portfolio value of USD 287 billion (SGD 382 billion) as of 31 March 2023. 

Temasek’s Purpose “So Every Generation Prospers” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations.

As an active investor, forward looking institution and trusted steward, Temasek is committed to deliver sustainable value over the long term.

Temasek has overall corporate credit ratings of Aaa/AAA by rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings respectively. 

Headquartered in Singapore, Temasek has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and London, Brussels, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Mexico City outside Asia. 

Singapore's Temasek To Invest Fresh $9-10 Bn in India in Next 3 Yrs

Global investment firm owned by the Govt of Singapore, Temasek Holdings, is expecting to ramp up its India portfolio by another $9-10 billion over the next 3 years, said a report by by The BusinessLine.

Temasek, which manages a total of US$497 billion (S$667 billion) in assets under management (AUM) as of June 2023, intends to double or even triple its India share in the global portfolio. India’s contribution to the Temasek’s global portfolio is at $17 billion, which has risen from 3% five years ago to 6% currently.

Temasek has been investing $1-1.5 billion in India annually, on an average. In April this year, Temasek closed a $2-billion plus investment in Manipal Health for a majority stake in the healthcare provider.

Since April 1, 2023, the investment firm’s portfolio in India has exceeded stock market returns, that have appreciated around 13% in FY24 so far, said the BusinessLine report.

Investing for around two decades, Temasek is betting on sectors like — healthcare, SaaS, fintech companies, e-commerce, electric vehicles and electronics manufacturing services.

Temasek's portfolio comprises both listed and unlisted assets, including its investments in funds. Though, the investment firm has benefitted from the increase in the value of its unlisted assets.

As at 31 March 2023, 47% of Temasek's portfolio was mainly in cash or cash-equivalents and listed assets, and 53% was in unlisted assets and funds.

Some of Temasek’s major direct investments in India include Adani Ports, Lenskart, Country Delight, AU Small Finance Bank, PB Fintech, Pharmeasy, Zomato, Tata Play and Info Edge.

Temasek said in its annual review on Tuesday (July 12) that it had invested $61 billion and divested $37 billion in the year ended March 31, 2022. That boosted its net portfolio to a record $403 billion for the period.

At 23%, financial sector is Temasek's top exposure while 18% of Temasek's portfolio presently comprises TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom) assets, down from 21%, while exposure to transport and industrials is up 22% from 19%.

Temasek To Acquire An Additional 41% Stake in Manipal Health Enterprises

• Manipal Group to hold 30% of the hospital chain
• TPG to re-invest in 11% stake through its new fund, TPG Asia VIII
• The deal will be completed post receipt of customary regulatory approvals

It was announced today that Temasek has signed definitive agreements to acquire an additional 41% stake in MHE.

Following the closing of the transaction, Manipal Group will hold about 30% of MHE. Sheares Healthcare Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary and independently-managed portfolio company of Temasek, will retain its existing 18% stake. Leading global alternative asset management firm TPG, which first invested in MHE through TPG Asia VI in 2015, will fully exit, but it will hold an interest of 11% in MHE, through its new Asia fund - TPG Asia VIII. National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will exit its holding from MHE.

Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Group, said, “We are very glad for Temasek’s acquisition of a significant stake in Manipal Health Enterprises and its support to the management team in building out the platform to its full potential. Investing in healthcare requires a long-term outlook as well as a sensitivity to social responsibility. I am glad that we have partners like Temasek and TPG who resonate with these values and will continue to be a part of the journey ahead. I am also grateful to NIIF who partnered with us at a critical juncture, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and supported us as we continued to provide high-quality healthcare.”

Puneet Bhatia, Co-Managing Partner of TPG Capital Asia, said: "Since our investment in 2015, we have witnessed Manipal’s transformational journey of becoming one of the largest, best-managed and patient- centric healthcare networks in India. By re-investing through our new Asia fund – TPG Asia VIII, we look forward to continuing to support Manipal’s mission of bridging the quality healthcare infrastructure gap in the country.”

Leveraging its pan-Asia presence and platform-building strategy, TPG Capital Asia has developed a strong track record in the healthcare sector. Its growing healthcare portfolio includes Sai Life Sciences, Pathology Asia, Columbia Asia, iNova, Novotech, Kangji and Dingdang Health.

Padmanabh Sinha, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, Private Equity of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund said, “NIIF, through its Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF), is pleased to have played an important role during the growth journey of Manipal Hospitals. The company demonstrated exceptional performance and following our investment, it successfully executed a transformational acquisition that catapulted Manipal Hospitals to become a segment leader in the Indian healthcare services space. We made this investment when elective procedures and medical tourism were at a standstill due to the pandemic, and the timing of recovery was uncertain. Our investment in Manipal is a good example of SOF’s strategy to invest in high-growth businesses which can become market leaders in India.”

Manipal Hospitals, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, has a pan-India presence. The hospital chain currently serves over 5 million patients a year through its network of 29 hospitals.

Allegro Capital Private Limited acted as the financial advisor on this transaction.

About Manipal Hospitals

As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the top healthcare providers in India serving over 5 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable, high quality healthcare framework through its multispecialty and tertiary care delivery spectrum and further extend it to out of hospital care. With the completion of acquisition of 100% shareholding in Columbia Asia Hospitals Private Limited and Vikram Hospital (Bengaluru) Private Limited, the integrated network today has a Pan-India footprint of 29 hospitals across 16 cities with 8;300+ beds, and a talented pool of 4,000 doctors and an employee strength of over 12,000.

Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from around the globe. Manipal Hospitals is NABH, AAHRPP accredited and most of the hospitals in its network are NABL, ER, Blood Bank accredited and recognized for Nursing Excellence. Manipal Hospitals has also been recognized the most respected and patient recommended hospital in India through various consumer surveys.

Temasek is an investment company with a net portfolio value of S$403 billion (US$297b) as of 31 March 2022. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 12 offices in 8 countries around the world.

Temasek’s Purpose “So Every Generation Prospers” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations. The Temasek Charter defines its three roles as an Investor, Institution and Steward, and shapes its ethos to do well, do right and do good.

Sustainability is at the core of all that Temasek does. It is committed to catalysing solutions to global challenges and activating capital – financial, human, social and natural – to bring about a better and more inclusive world for all.

TPG is a leading global alternative asset management firm, founded in San Francisco in 1992, with $135 billion of assets under management and investment and operational teams around the world. TPG invests across five multi-product platforms: Capital, Growth, Impact, Real Estate, and Market Solutions and our unique strategy is driven by collaboration, innovation, and inclusion. Our teams combine deep product and sector experience with broad capabilities and expertise to develop differentiated insights and add value for our fund investors, portfolio companies, management teams, and communities. For more information, visit www.tpg.com or @TPG on Twitter.

About National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India, which manages funds with investments in different asset classes and diversified sectors that generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. NIIFL manages over $4.3 billion of equity capital commitments across its three funds – Master Fund, Fund of Funds, and Strategic Opportunities Fund, each with a distinct investment strategy committed to support the country’s growth needs.

For more information and recent updates on NIIFL, please visit www.niifindia.in and follow the official LinkedIn channel.

Standard Chartered Invests in Partior, A JP Morgan and Temasek-backed Blockchain Payment Network

Standard Chartered has invested in Partior, the blockchain-based payment network founded last year by Singapore government-owned investment fund Temasek, J.P. Morgan and DBS Bank. 

With this investment, Standard Chartered becomes a founding Shareholder of Partior. Standard Chartered will serve as the first Euro settlement bank for the Partior platform.

Partior is an open industry platform, ​developed to make digital clearing and settlement more efficient, reliable, and secure by harnessing the benefits of blockchain and smart contracts technology.

As an Open Platform, Partior addresses current points of friction that enables banks around the world to provide real-time cross-border multi-currency payments, trade finance, foreign exchange and DVP securities settlements on a world-class platform, with programmability, immutability, traceability built into its suite of services.

With investment from Standard Chartered, Partior on track to achieve its plan to broaden its currency offerings beyond the first slate of eight global currencies – USD, SGD, GBP, EUR, AUD, JPY, CNH and HKD, by 2023.

Based out of Singapore, Partior started as Project Ubin, in 2016, a collaborative project with the industry to explore the use of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for clearing and settlement of payments and securities. In 2020, Project Ubin develops a prototype that validates CBDC cross-border payments are cheaper and faster.

Eventually in last year, Partior goes live with SGD and USD, and this year it goes for commercial expansion with 8 currencies selected for onboarding (mentioned above) . Team Partior also won this year’s G20 TechSprint, an international contest to search for innovative solutions for operational problems in green and sustainable finance. Partior was selected among winners for "improving interoperability" category for their solution Project Naucratis: Enabling Connectivity & Interoperability for mCBDC, which is a blockchain-based multi-CBDC network that supports both account-based and token based CBDC models.

Partior, an independent company, is the blockchain platform for payments clearing and settlement that grew from the Project Ubin collaboration, and founded by J.P. Morgan, DBS and Temasek, with the backing of MAS, to achieve end-to-end atomic settlements in multiple currencies, and replace the sequential approach to payments settlement.

The platform aims to make digital clearing and settlement more efficient, reliable and secure for financial institutions worldwide by leveraging the key benefits of programmability, immutability and traceability, inherent features of blockchain and distributed ledgers, and aims to address multi-currency and cross-border payments pain points.

CropIn Raises $20 Mn in Funding Led by Temasek backed ABC World Asia

Krishna

CropIn, a leading global artificial intelligence and data-led agri-tech organization empowering stakeholders to reimagine agriculture with data, has raised US$20 million in a Series C funding round led by ABC World Asia, an Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to evidence-based impact investing.

Existing investors Chiratae Ventures, Invested Development and Ankur Capital also participated in this funding round. Other new investors in this round include CDC Group and Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office Pratithi Investment Trust.

CropIn will use this capital infusion to focus on its global expansion, while continuing to innovate on its machine learning-based predictive analytics platform, SmartRisk to further strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities. CropIn is also investing to penetrate deeper in its target markets globally. Recently, CropIn opened an Amsterdam office, and will be hiring local leaders to drive growth in the European market.

CropIn’s data-driven farming solutions enable agri-enterprises and growers to ‘maximize per-acre value’. Its farm data and agronomy management platform, SmartFarm, empowers stakeholders to improve efficiency, productivity, predictability, and sustainability of their crop value-chains. SmartFarm enables agri-enterprises to adhere to food safety standards thereby ensuring farm-to-fork traceability. The platform helps growers adopt sustainable farming practices to build long term economic viability and resiliency for local farming communities. CropIn has partnered with several global players in agriculture, including development finance institutions and government entities in 52 countries, to drive their digital and sustainability goals.

CropIn’s SmartRisk platform improves underwriting and risk assessment, enabling banks, insurance providers and other financial institutions to make informed underwriting decisions, identify new markets and expand product portfolios to service high-volume low-ticket opportunities. By analyzing and interpreting farm-centric data for over 388 crops with nearly 9,500 variants across trillions of data points that grow every day, SmartRisk helps achieve high prediction accuracy at a plot-level. It does this by combining computer vision with deep-learning algorithms, on multispectral imagery derived from aerial scouting (satellites and drones), field scouting data, and hyperlocal weather.

The SmartRisk AI has processed more than 160 million hectares of land area, and has the potential to impact 70 million farmers globally in the next 3-5 years. Thus far, CropIn has positively impacted 13 million acres and 4 million farmers through the SmartFarm and SmartRisk platforms. Smallholder farmers associated with CropIn’s clientele also observed their crop yields increasing by nearly 25% in the first year and subsequently experienced optimised yield improvements in the following years, by integrating the recommended advanced agricultural techniques and quality inputs into their farming practices through CropIn’s agri-tech platforms.

“The robust, predictive power of digitalisation offers tremendous potential for the agriculture industry to leapfrog its many challenges in the coming years. The industry is capturing more data than ever, on everything from agronomy, weather and logistics to market price volatility, which has helped reduce acute data gaps throughout the value chain. In order to improve yields, optimise production and improve resilience and sustainability, agri-businesses are increasingly relying on innovative agri-tech solutions like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and the internet of things. We, at CropIn, are excited to advance the ‘AI-Culture’ for Agriculture,” says Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of CropIn.

Based in Singapore, ABC World Asia invests in companies that demonstrate commitment to generating positive and measurable social or environmental impact, alongside the ability to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns.

“Sustainable food and agriculture is a core investment theme for ABC World Asia. The agriculture industry is an important pillar of the global economy, in particular driving Asia’s growth and feeding the region’s rapidly increasing population. The industry now faces challenges more pronounced than before, with the COVID-19 global pandemic highlighting the vulnerability of global food supplies and impacting the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers. CropIn’s digital solutions will enable farmers to utilize real-time data for better decision-making and improved farm productivity. This investment underscores our support of such smart and sustainable agri-tech solutions that can build resilience in agriculture,” said David Heng, Founder and CEO of ABC World Asia. Ms Sugandhi Matta, Managing Director of ABC World Asia, will also join CropIn as a board member.

Existing investors of CropIn include BeeNext and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund (London and Seattle). Over the last year, CropIn has established an advisory board comprising Barrett Mooney (Chairman of Board at AgEagle), Ranveer Chandra (Chief Scientist at Microsoft), TVG Krishnamurthy (Member of the Board of Directors at Ola), and Dr Iya Khalil (Global Head of the AI Innovation Center at Novartis).

According to Karan Mohla, Partner, Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, “As active investors in the agri-tech space as well as in companies pioneering deep-tech and AI, we are truly excited about the innovative models that CropIn is building out in farm management and predictive analytics. In creating and building out a platform for multiple participants in the agriculture ecosystem, CropIn has established itself as a true global leader. With the leadership of Krishna and co-founder Kunal Prasad, they have built out a tremendous world-class team and advisory board and are on the precipice of achieving massive scale as a global company.”

Ambit Corporate Finance acted as the financial advisor to CropIn for this funding round. With this new round of investment, CropIn has raised a total funding of US$33.1 million to date.

About CropIn

CropIn is a leading global AI-driven agtech​ organization that provides SaaS and data solutions to ag-enterprises globally. CropIn enables businesses in the agriculture ecosystem to adopt a data-driven approach through its ground-to-cloud technology solutions. 

CropIn’s unique suite of platforms - SmartFarm and SmartRisk - enable various stakeholders to adopt and drive digital strategy across their crop value-chains and operations. The company empowers the ag-enterprises with data insights that help drive initiatives around Digitization, Predictability, Traceability, Financial Inclusion, Climate Smart Agriculture and Sustainability.

Please visit www.cropin.com for more information.

About ABC World Asia

Headquartered in Singapore, ABC World Asia is a private equity fund dedicated to impact investing. Impact investing encompasses the intention to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return.

ABC World Asia was established by Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Singapore headquartered investment company, Temasek. The fund’s investment strategy aligns with Temasek’s ABC Framework for an Active Economy, a Beautiful Society and a Clean Earth, building on the ideals of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

ABC World Asia will focus on themes including – financial and digital inclusion; better health and education; climate and water solutions; sustainable food and agriculture; and smart and liveable cities.
For more information, please visit www.abcworld.com.sg

Temasek-backed UST Global Acquires SeviTech, A Bangalore-based Chip Design Startup

California, US-based UST Global has acquired Bengaluru-based SeviTech Systems, a fast-growing chip design (VLSI) services company and a leading application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design solutions firm.

SeviTech will be retained as an independent entity and positioned as an expert in the pre-silicon engineering services business. It will continue to operate as a subsidiary of UST Global.

The acquisition will bring in the advanced technology and deep end-market expertise of the two companies, delivering advanced end-to-end solutions to global semiconductor manufacturers. The acquisition reinforces UST Global’s strength and focus in India, and elevates its position as a world’s most premium VLSI solutions provider, and a market leader in pre-silicon engineering.

Founded in 2013, by Prabhu Bhairi, Ashish Gupta, Shekhar Sharma and Anil Dalwani, SeviTech is one of fastest growing chip design (VLSI) Services Company, working with top IC design companies. The company has about 350 employees expertizing in end-to-end ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) design and embedded solutions. SeviTech has RnD centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad. In 2017, the company was recognized as the 50 best startups to work for by Silicon India.

UST Global had recently raised $250 million from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, in June this year, valuing it at over $1 billion. SeviTech is UST's third acquisition so far. In 2012, the company had acquired Andare, a company engaged in developing mobile solutions for large enterprise CRM applications. This was followed by acquisition of Kanchi Technologies, a company with primary focus in Engineer Services, in 2014.

UST Global’s Semiconductor business provides an end-to-end engineering and technology services that support the entire silicon lifecycle for original device manufacturer (ODM), original equipment manufacturer (OEM), integrated hardware vendor (IHV), and ASIC (Digital & Full Custom) Design, Verification & Implementation, FPGA implementation along with embedded software development. With the added capabilities and teams from SeviTech, the company will now be able to cater to the large volume of demand from global semiconductor manufacturers.

Commenting on the acquisition, Gilroy Mathew, Global Head of Semiconductor and Head of APAC, UST Global, said “Globally, our semiconductor business has seen an inspiring and phenomenal growth over the years. The acquisition of SeviTech is an integral part of our plan to strengthen our Technical Centers of Excellence providing RTL to GDSII solutions to our customers globally. With this acquisition, UST is now placed as a leader with expertise in delivering low power, high-performance chipset solutions for Automotive, Communication, Storage and other industries. The acquisition not only reinforces our VLSI capabilities but also highlights the company as an industry powerhouse focused on the high growth opportunities in the silicon world.”

“The global presence of UST Global coupled with strong ASIC engineering teams of SeviTech Systems positions us to provide innovative solutions to customers worldwide. It enhances our service portfolio and strengthens our position with customers for the end-to-end chip design solutions,” said Prabhu Bhairi, CEO & Co-Founder, SeviTech Systems.

To ensure the continued strong growth of SeviTech and a mutually beneficial association for both parties going forward, UST Global will maintain SeviTech as an independent entity and positioning it further as an expert in pre-silicon engineering services business. SeviTech will continue to operate as a subsidiary of UST Global.

To recall, in this month only Intel has acquired Indian entrepreneurs founded NetSpeed Systems, a San Jose, California-based provider of system-on-chip design tools and interconnect fabric intellectual property.

~ Business Line | Source - UST Global

[Top Featured Image - Glassdoor]

Temasek-backed UST Global Acquires SeviTech, A Bangalore-based Chip Design Startup

California, US-based UST Global has acquired Bengaluru-based SeviTech Systems, a fast-growing chip design (VLSI) services company and a leading application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design solutions firm.

SeviTech will be retained as an independent entity and positioned as an expert in the pre-silicon engineering services business. It will continue to operate as a subsidiary of UST Global.

The acquisition will bring in the advanced technology and deep end-market expertise of the two companies, delivering advanced end-to-end solutions to global semiconductor manufacturers. The acquisition reinforces UST Global’s strength and focus in India, and elevates its position as a world’s most premium VLSI solutions provider, and a market leader in pre-silicon engineering.

Founded in 2013, by Prabhu Bhairi, Ashish Gupta, Shekhar Sharma and Anil Dalwani, SeviTech is one of fastest growing chip design (VLSI) Services Company, working with top IC design companies. The company has about 350 employees expertizing in end-to-end ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) design and embedded solutions. SeviTech has RnD centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad. In 2017, the company was recognized as the 50 best startups to work for by Silicon India.

UST Global had recently raised $250 million from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, in June this year, valuing it at over $1 billion. SeviTech is UST's third acquisition so far. In 2012, the company had acquired Andare, a company engaged in developing mobile solutions for large enterprise CRM applications. This was followed by acquisition of Kanchi Technologies, a company with primary focus in Engineer Services, in 2014.

UST Global’s Semiconductor business provides an end-to-end engineering and technology services that support the entire silicon lifecycle for original device manufacturer (ODM), original equipment manufacturer (OEM), integrated hardware vendor (IHV), and ASIC (Digital & Full Custom) Design, Verification & Implementation, FPGA implementation along with embedded software development. With the added capabilities and teams from SeviTech, the company will now be able to cater to the large volume of demand from global semiconductor manufacturers.

Commenting on the acquisition, Gilroy Mathew, Global Head of Semiconductor and Head of APAC, UST Global, said “Globally, our semiconductor business has seen an inspiring and phenomenal growth over the years. The acquisition of SeviTech is an integral part of our plan to strengthen our Technical Centers of Excellence providing RTL to GDSII solutions to our customers globally. With this acquisition, UST is now placed as a leader with expertise in delivering low power, high-performance chipset solutions for Automotive, Communication, Storage and other industries. The acquisition not only reinforces our VLSI capabilities but also highlights the company as an industry powerhouse focused on the high growth opportunities in the silicon world.”

“The global presence of UST Global coupled with strong ASIC engineering teams of SeviTech Systems positions us to provide innovative solutions to customers worldwide. It enhances our service portfolio and strengthens our position with customers for the end-to-end chip design solutions,” said Prabhu Bhairi, CEO & Co-Founder, SeviTech Systems.

To ensure the continued strong growth of SeviTech and a mutually beneficial association for both parties going forward, UST Global will maintain SeviTech as an independent entity and positioning it further as an expert in pre-silicon engineering services business. SeviTech will continue to operate as a subsidiary of UST Global.

To recall, in this month only Intel has acquired Indian entrepreneurs founded NetSpeed Systems, a San Jose, California-based provider of system-on-chip design tools and interconnect fabric intellectual property.

~ Business Line | Source - UST Global

[Top Featured Image - Glassdoor]

PayPal, Temasek Invests $125 Mn in Noida-based Payment Startup Pine Labs

Noida-based point-of-sales (PoS) deploying company Pine Labs has raised $125 million from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore and PayPal, the largest Us-based digital payments company. Both Paypal and Temasek have acquired minority stakes in Pine Labs.

Sequoia India, which first invested in Pine Labs in 2009, remains the company’s largest shareholder. This round is followed by the round that Pine Labs had announced in March of this year when it raised $82 million from private equity fund Actis and California-based investment company Altimeter Capital. Till date, the company has raised total of $208 milion in four different rounds including this one.

Founded in 1998 by Rajul Garg, Tarun Upaday, Pine Labs offers a cloud-based PoS payments solutions, allowing merchants to accept credit or debit card payments, as well as latest methods such as e-wallets, QR code payment solutions and unified payments interface (UPI)-based solutions.

Pine Labs plans to use the deep network of Temasek in multiple Asian geographies to help Pine Labs scale up operations in the south east Asian region and further with the technological capabilities of PayPal, Pine Labs is looking to strengthen its tech play as well.

Moreover, as Pine Labs is expanding its product suite by building new layers of services for merchants, banks and other communities in the payment ecosystem, PayPal’s global presence and strong product expertise will make the ally with Pine Labs invaluable.

Speaking on the fresh funding, Lokvir Kapoor, founder of Pine Labs, said, "We’re teaming up with Temasek and PayPal at a time when the Indian payments market is at an inflexion point. The investments will help us move a step closer to our vision for building a world-class merchant-centric payments ecosystem."

With $15 billion worth of transactions processed annually, Pine Labs is used by over 65,000 merchants across India’s retail, e-commerce, electronics, food and beverage, fashion, financial, pharmacy, telecom and airlines industries. The company aims to reach 1 million payment acceptance points in India in the next three to five years.

It may be recalled that just yesterday, an another payment startup Tonetag too raised $10 million from Amazon and Mastercard, along with others.

In February, ICICI bank bank had invested ₹99 Lakhs in Mumbai-based Biometric Payment Startup Tapits.

In January, Grab, a Singapore based on-demand firm, acquired Bangalore-based payments startup iKaaz. Ikaaz’ technology stack encompasses a range of innovations, such as NFC, QR-code, audio-based payments as well as bill payments, online payments and P2P.

Meanwhile, A recent study done by Fallible.co, a security firm working towards escalating the security of tech startups has made some shocking revelations. According to the study, many of the popular Indian startups whose services we avail online possess a potential credit card detail theft for the customers.

The above news was first reported in LiveMint.

Paytm in Talks to Raise $300M from Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Mediatek

Mobile payment and ecommerce platform Paytm, is in advanced talks to raise fresh funding of about Rs 2,000 crore ($300 million) from Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek, Goldman Sachs, Singapore's Temasek and other investors, as reported by ET. Existing investors, which include Alibaba and its payments affiliate Alipay besides venture capital firm SAIF Partners, will also be participating.

According to multiple source, the new round is expected to value the company at close to $5 billion. The money will be deployed across all of Paytm's businesses -digital payments, online marketplace and the upcoming payments bank.

Paytm was valued at $2.3 billion in the last round of capital infusion in June.

Paytm rivals in payments include Mobikwik, which recently raised $40 million from South Africa's Net1, and Snapdeal-owned Freecharge, which has been looking to raise a $150-300 million round since October 2015. Flipkart is also expected to launch its mobile payments business under PhonePe next week, and plans to invest $100 million initially.

Over the last 12 months, Paytm has been pushing its offline to online business aggressively, entering areas like movie ticketing, petrol pump payments, taxi payments and education fees among others. This is expected to be key drivers in monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) increasing to $500 million by December from $300 million in July, Sharma told ET in an interview earlier this month. Sharma had also said that Paytm is running at a 1% operating loss, which includes online marketing, payment gateway and cashback costs.

As of now, Paytm's Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds 21.33% stake in One97 communications (Paytm's parent company) and its earliest venture capital investor SAIF Partners has 30.81%. Alibaba holds 8.53% while Alipay is the single largest shareholder with a 32.41% holding.