SINGAPORE - Temasek's newly-minted joint venture (JV) Reefknot Investments has made its first investment of an undisclosed amount in UK artificial intelligence (AI) startup Prowler.io.

Prowler.io is the first portfolio company Reefknot is committing to as part of a global US$50 million (S$68 million) fund that it closed earlier this year.

Singapore-headquartered Reefknot is a JV between Temasek and Swiss transport and logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel, that has a remit to invest in startups "at the forefront" of the logistics and supply chain industry.

Prowler.io's AI platform for decision-making - VUKU - combines mathematics, engineering and economic theory to help organisations make better decisions and process real-time data in complex and uncertain environments such as financial markets, logistics and transportation, ride-sharing, smart cities and robotics.

It had most recently closed a US$24 million Series B round in May which saw backing from Reefknot's venture ecosystem partners - the Singapore government's innovation platform SGInnovate and Atlantic Bridge. Singapore-based RB Capital, Tencent Holdings, Pearson and Amadeus Capital Partners also invested.

Prowler.io was founded in 2016, with the Series B financing round valuing the startup at US$100 million.

Marc Dragon, managing director of Reefknot Investments, said: "We are excited about supporting the application of Prowler.io's leadership in using its data-efficient AI techniques to feasibly tackle longstanding challenges in the supply chain and logistics industry."

Vishal Chatrath, co-founder and CEO of Prowler.io, said his team was impressed with Reefknot's "deep knowledge of the logistics and supply chain industry, and commitment to shaping its future".

"Through Reefknot, we have access to their ecosystem of domain partners and have the opportunity to combine their sector expertise with our leading technology platform," he added.

Other domains the Reefknot fund is actively exploring include digital logistics and trade finance.