Singapore state investor Temasek has partnered with Pinegrove Credit Partners to expand venture debt financing for technology and life sciences companies, as private credit gains ground as an alternative funding source for startups facing tighter equity markets.
The partnership will focus on providing flexible, minimally dilutive financing to growth-stage companies across sectors including artificial intelligence and compute infrastructure, defence, space, energy, robotics, enterprise software, healthcare and life sciences, according to an announcement.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Pinegrove Credit Partners is the venture debt and private credit arm of Pinegrove Venture Partners, which is backed by Brookfield and HRTG Partners. Pinegrove has more than $12 billion in assets under management across venture debt, fund investments, co-investments and venture secondaries.
The firm said its venture debt funds have deployed more than $4.5 billion across about 580 loans to over 450 growth-stage companies since 2012. Since March 2025, its existing fund vehicles have closed or signed term sheets on 37 loans totaling about $700 million in commitments.
The deal underscores growing interest among sovereign and institutional investors in private credit strategies linked to the innovation economy. Venture debt has become more relevant as later-stage startups seek capital without raising highly dilutive equity rounds or waiting for IPO markets to reopen more fully.
Temasek, which had a net portfolio value of S$434 billion ($324 billion) as of March 31, 2025, has been increasing exposure to long-term themes such as digitisation, sustainable living, future consumption and longer lifespans.
Pinegrove also has a long-standing relationship with Silicon Valley Bank, now a division of First Citizens Bank. The firm has worked with SVB’s venture lending platform since 2012 and formalised a strategic lending relationship in December 2024.
The partnership adds to a broader expansion of private credit into technology financing, particularly in sectors such as AI infrastructure, energy transition and deep technology, where companies often require large amounts of capital before reaching profitability or public-market readiness.
Why we cover this
The partnership highlights how private credit is becoming an increasingly important source of capital for technology and innovation-driven companies as traditional venture funding becomes more selective. It also reflects growing interest among sovereign and institutional investors in financing models tied to AI infrastructure, energy transition, healthcare, and other strategic sectors that require significant long-term capital.