By David G. Barry
Singapore investment company Temasek had a portfolio company
do something that few startups have done in 2022: go public.
Akili Inc., a digital medicine company, did so by merging with a special
purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. 1. Based
in Boston, Akili will use the $163 million in proceeds to support the launch of
a first-of-its-kind U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved prescription
digital therapeutic for pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It
is trading on Nasdaq under the symbol AKLI.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last year,
Temasek was poised to be one of the largest shareholders in Akili after the
offering, owning a stake of 12.1%. Akili’s stock opened at $6.40 a share.
During the first half of 2022, only 92 companies went public, raising just
under $9 billion, according to FactSet. In contrast, during the same period in
2021, 1073 companies went public, raising $317 billion.
Temasek, according to the filing, participated in both Akili’s $68 million Series
C round in 2018 and $110 million Series D round in 2021. Temasek invested $29.9
million in 2018 and $24.9 million in 2021. All told, Akili had raised around
$280 million prior to the offering. Other investors include Neuberger Berman,
Amgen, Jazz Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, Mire Asset Wealth Management
and Baillie Gifford.
As of March 31, Temasek’s portfolio was valued at S$403 billion (US$289.3
billion) Roughly half of the value of the portfolio is unlisted companies, with
startups accounting for 26%. Private equity and credit funds account for 18% of
the total.