Singapore will merge two state-backed investment agencies, EDBI and SEEDS Capital, to form a new entity next year, according to an announcement on Friday.
EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), and SEEDS Capital, an early-stage investments-focused company, will merge to form SG Growth Capital on April 1, 2025.
A joint release by the companies said SG Growth Capital will better leverage EDBI’s and SEEDs’ expertise and networks to grow their portfolio companies.
Launched in 1991, EDBI has focused on growth-stage investments, aiming to attract high-potential foreign companies to Singapore and nurture local tech companies through direct investments and a fund-of-funds (FoF) approach. It has backed companies across the globe, including ByteDance and GaiaWorks in China, Carro, Carousell and GoTo in Southeast Asia and Nuvation Bio and Carta in the US.
Founded in 2001, SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of government agency Enterprise Singapore, has focused on the early-stage startup ecosystem and has typically co-invested with other venture capital firms in the city-state. Its portfolio companies include Biofourmis, Structo, Tookitaki and Engine Biosciences.
The merger will open the door for more collaboration opportunities between local and foreign companies and enable the soon-to-be merged entity to deepen its expertise in startup financing, venture building and deep tech, said the joint statement.
Following the merger, EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon will assume the same role at SG Growth Capital, while Enterprise Singapore managing director Cindy Khoo will become the deputy chair.
EDB executive vice president Heng Tong Choo will hold the concurrent role of the new entity’s CEO.
Paul Ng, EDBI’s current CEO, and Kaixin Tan, general manager of SEEDS Capital, will continue to lead the EDBI and SEEDS divisions, respectively, under SG Growth Capital.
In 2023, EDBI spun out an independent fund manager called August Global Partners to make venture- to growth-stage investments in the healthcare sector. Led by former EDBI CEO and president Swee Yeok Chu, the new firm manages two funds with $250 million in assets and counts Moderna, Biofourmis, and Doctor Anywhere among its portfolio companies.
SEEDS Capital has deployed more than S$220 million in startup investments since 2017, according to its website. It had partnered with EDBI to administer a S$285 million ($205 million) fund in 2020 to support startups in the city-state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
