Temasek's new joint venture (JV) Reefknot Investments has made its first investment of an undisclosed amount in British artificial intelligence (AI) start-up 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 with a remit to invest in start-ups 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 that 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 it at US$100 million.

Reefknot Investments managing director Marc Dragon 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."

Prowler.io co-founder and chief executive Vishal Chatrath 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.