Antler is a global day-zero venture platform that backs founders at company formation, often before a team, idea, product, or revenue exists. Its model combines highly selective founder residencies, standardized inception checks, and structured follow-on pathways through matching programs and Antler Elevate for breakout companies.
Evaluation weights
How much weight this firm places on each dimension. Totals 100%.
Revenue, growth, and unit economics
Size, timing, and competitive landscape
Founder experience and execution ability
Differentiation and technical quality
- Bias toward exceptional people over polished ideas
- Comfort with pre-idea and pre-revenue investing if founder quality is extraordinary
- Preference for teams that create fast validation momentum after inception
- Increasingly conventional growth scrutiny for later-stage Elevate checks
Pitch difficulty
How hard it is to get a meeting and close funding from this firm.
- Funded / yr
- 303Deals closed in a typical year.
- Led / yr
- 79Rounds led in the last 12 months.
- Pitches / yr
- ~52364Decks reviewed in a typical year.
- Acceptance rate
- 0.6%Share of pitches that get funded.
Estimated — public data is not fully disclosed.
Why it's hard
- Acceptance rates are reported at below 0.2%
- Founders are evaluated over 6-10 intensive weeks, not just a pitch meeting
- The bar is especially high on founder quality, intent, and execution speed
- Later-stage Elevate investing adds more conventional selectivity around growth and category leadership
Antler is unusually accessible in stage but not in admission: it invests before idea and revenue, yet its residency intake and funding conversion are extremely selective. The firm mitigates early-stage risk through deep founder vetting, structured programs, and a high bar for ambition and execution.
Green flags
What drives a yes for this firm.
- Exceptional founders with grit, ambition, and unusually strong execution ability
- Clear founder-market fit or rare domain/technical depth
- Evidence of fast learning and willingness to pivot during the residency
- Early validation signals such as LOIs, waitlists, pilot demand, or usage
- A venture-scale market with a credible path to category leadership
Red flags
What kills deals and gets a fast no.
- Part-time founders or weak commitment to building full time
- No validation momentum after meaningful time in Antler's process
- Small-market ideas or businesses unlikely to produce power-law outcomes
- Founders who are rigid, uncoachable, or unable to pivot
- Exposure to excluded sectors or clear ESG/responsible-investment conflicts
How to win
Patterns that lead to successful pitches.
- Lead with why this founding team is exceptional, not just the idea
- Show concrete validation signals even if revenue is zero
- Demonstrate rapid execution speed and learning loops
- Make the market ambition unmistakably venture-scale and globally relevant
- Explain founder-market fit with specific domain or technical credibility
Fund strategy & identity
Who they are and how they operate.
- Invest at inception through residency-based founder selection
- Make standardized pre-seed checks across local markets
- Use structured matching/ARC programs to accelerate the next round
- Reserve follow-on capital and invest further via Antler Elevate
- Diversify broadly across geographies while underwriting power-law outcomes
Firm identity
Investment focus
Industries, themes, and typical ARR expectations.
Industries
Investment themes
Typical check by stage
Typical ARR by stage
Investment thesis
Core beliefs and strategy behind their investing approach.
Antler is a global "day zero" investor built on a core belief: exceptional teams create the greatest companies, and the best time to partner with them is at inception. The firm operates across ~30 cities, providing an on‑ramp for founders—often pre‑team and pre‑idea—to form companies, validate models, and secure initial capital. Antler is sector‑agnostic, yet has deep momentum in AI; its portfolio also spans fintech, health/biotech, climate/energy, deep‑tech, B2B SaaS, consumer, and web3/e‑commerce. The investment model couples highly selective, hands‑on residencies with founder‑friendly initial checks and rapid IC decisions, then reinforces momentum via structured matching programs (e.g., ARC) and a later‑stage fund (Antler Elevate) that invests from Pre‑A through Series C. Antler’s philosophy emphasizes people over initial concepts, light early control terms (no anti‑dilution or veto, information and pro‑rata rights, optional board observer), and building durable governance (10%+ ESOP, standard 4‑year vesting). Its Responsible Investment and ESG framework excludes harmful sectors such as controversial weapons, gambling, and companies that cause environmental or societal harm. Antler’s risk appetite is among the highest in venture: it explicitly invests pre‑product and pre‑traction, with a global platform and continuity capital to help teams progress from $0 revenue at inception to institutional rounds. The result is a scaled, global pipeline and portfolio construction that embraces power‑law outcomes—producing breakouts such as Airalo and Lovable—while supporting hundreds of founders annually with capital, networks, and operating leverage from day zero to greatness.
Decision patterns
How they evaluate and make investment decisions.
Antler’s decisions are founder‑first and highly process‑based. Through a 6‑10 week residency, partners spend hundreds of hours with founders to evaluate grit, skill depth, ambition, founder‑market fit, and the ability to pivot quickly. The firm welcomes pre‑idea teams; ideas can be formed during the program. Investment hinges less on existing ARR and more on validation signals such as user wait‑lists, LOIs, early product usage, and clear market size. Structured ARC/matching commitments de‑risk the next raise, while temporary exclusivity and full‑time founder commitments reduce noise. Antler is sector‑agnostic but leans toward AI, fintech, climate/energy, and consumer software. Early bets are made with standardized inception checks and pre‑committed follow‑on capital, and later participation via the Elevate fund focuses on compounding growth and category leadership.
Risk appetite
Antler is aggressively risk‑tolerant at the inception stage, investing pre‑revenue and even pre‑idea through its residency model and standardized checks (e.g., $250K‑$400K). Selectivity (<0.2% acceptance) and intensive founder vetting mitigate risk while allowing many small bets globally. At seed and beyond, risk tolerance normalizes: follow‑on reserves and the Elevate fund lead or co‑lead $3‑10 M Series A rounds, applying conventional due diligence. Overall, Antler couples high early‑stage risk appetite with portfolio diversification and a willingness to lead later‑stage rounds when firms demonstrate compounding growth.
Notable investments
Key portfolio companies and why they fit the thesis.
- AiraloGlobal eSIM marketplace scaling cross‑border telecom infrastructure, matching Antler’s focus on platform‑level infrastructure from day zero.
- ReebeloCircular‑economy marketplace for refurbished electronics, aligning with Antler’s sustainability and consumer‑focused thesis.
- Teton.aiAI‑driven elderly‑care operations platform, fitting Antler’s applied AI and healthcare vertical focus.
- AgentioAI‑native advertising infrastructure for creators, demonstrating Antler’s support from inception to growth in AI‑driven media.
- Doorstep.aiEnterprise AI solution for last‑mile fraud detection and logistics efficiency, consistent with Antler’s applied AI thesis.
- Levit8 AILeadHR analytics platform detecting churn risk, a B2B SaaS with early traction that fits Antler’s pre‑seed thesis of high‑impact tech founders.
- MessengerCoLeadConversational commerce tooling from Malaysia, part of Antler’s Southeast‑Asia pre‑seed push with standardized checks.
- IndustrialMindLeadIndustrial AI solutions for manufacturing, aligning with Antler’s verticalized AI and infrastructure focus.
- NugenLeadReliability‑focused AI infrastructure for regulated sectors, matching Antler’s applied, reliable‑AI thesis.
Co-invested with
Other firms in this catalog who've backed the same companies.
No catalog overlap found yet. Co-investors are derived from each firm's notable investments — connections may surface as more firms are added.
Partners
Full firm roster — key partners, partners, and the wider team.
Key partners
Bob Rosin
General Partner, Antler US
Antler
General Partner at Antler US and experienced startup operator with prior roles at Qik, Skype, and Microsoft.
Jussi Salovaara
Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia
Antler
Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia at Antler, leading Antler's investments in APAC.
Fady Abdel-Nour
General Partner, Antler Elevate
Antler
General Partner at Antler Elevate with prior global M&A and investment leadership at PayU and Prosus.
Martell Hardenberg
Investment Partner
Antler
London-based Antler investment partner and former co-founder and CEO of Lazada.
Partners
Zade Al Borshaid
Director
Antler
MENAP Director at Antler with prior McKinsey Digital and principal-investor experience.
Winnie Khoo
Partner
Antler
Singapore-based Antler Partner focused on Southeast Asia founders and AI startup scaling.
Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro
Partner
Antler
Antler Indonesia partner and Warung Pintar co-founder focused on day-zero founders.
Ian Townsend
Director
Antler
Antler Director and LBS MBA with prior strategy and technology consulting experience at Deloitte.
Peter Schmidt
Director, Global Capital Team
Antler
Antler Global Capital team member focused on fundraising, co-investments, and LPs in Australia and the US.
Mike Abbott
Partner
Antler
Antler Australia partner, early Uber Asia operator, and co-founder of acquired B2B marketplace Kaddy.
Shalaka Uchil
Director
Antler
Antler Global Capital Director focused on platform and institutional investor operations.
Mathias Owing Maanum
Partner, Elevate
Antler
Antler Elevate partner in London backing growth companies across climate, energy, and fintech.
Dilan Mizrakli Landgraff
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Antler
Antler co-founder focused on international expansion, startup boards, and Web3 advisory.
Markus Bruderer
Partner
Antler
Antler partner focused on Southeast Asia, with prior venture development roles at Zalora and GFG.
Hongye WANG
Partner, Antler China
Antler
Partner at Antler China focused on investment, capital, operations and early-stage technology startups.
V. Bunty Bohra
Partner
Antler
Antler Partner and Biologic CEO, formerly CEO of Goldman Sachs Services in India.
Marcelo Ciampolini
Partner
Antler
Antler Brazil Partner and former Lendico founder focused on early-stage technology startups.
Courtney Christianson
Global Partner
Antler
Antler Global Partner focused on investor relations and capital partnerships.
Desmond Poon
Partner, Capital Team
Antler
London-based Antler Capital partner with venture, banking and investor-relations experience.
JaeHee Chang
General Partner
Antler
General Partner co-leading Antler Korea and helping early-stage startups scale globally.
Andrea Hajdu-Howe FCA
Partner, Co-Head of Capital
Antler
Antler capital leader focused on fundraising, investor relations, and global capital strategy.
Magnus Grimeland
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Antler
Founder and CEO of Antler, backing founders globally from inception through scale.
Christopher Walsh
Partner
Antler
San Francisco-based Antler investment partner focused on growth-stage technology companies.
Romain Assunção (رومان اسونساو)
Founder and Managing Partner, Antler MENAP
Antler
Founder and Managing Partner of Antler MENAP, with prior McKinsey, Amazon, Jumia and L'Oreal experience.
Teddy Himler
Venture Partner, Antler MENAP
Antler
Venture Partner at Antler MENAP and founder of Optimist Ventures, with SoftBank and Comcast Ventures experience.
Lavanya Indralingam
Partner, Head of Scouting
Antler
Antler Partner leading global scouting, founder selection strategy and early-stage fund operations.
Vegard Medbø
Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
Antler
Antler co-founder and COO leading international expansion and founder support.
Marie Nielsen
Partner
Antler
Antler Africa Partner in Nairobi and former founder investing in scalable African startups.
Halah Al-Jubeir
Managing Director, Saudi Arabia
Antler
Antler Saudi Arabia MD leading early-stage investments and founder development across MENAP.
Gabriel (Sa-Eun) Jung
General Partner
Antler
Antler Korea GP and former GS Retail CVC head who led investments including Moloco.
Anil Atmaramani
Partner, Antler Africa
Antler
Antler Africa partner in Lagos backing day-zero founders across Nigeria and the continent.
Roslyn Jin
Partner, Platform & Founder Experience
Antler
Antler U.S. Platform Partner overseeing sourcing, residency operations and portfolio support.
Will Robinson
Partner, Head of Strategic Partnerships
Antler
Antler partnerships leader with prior Techstars revenue and APAC expansion experience.
Michael Wiatr Aagaard
General Partner
Antler
Antler GP backing earliest-stage founders, with BCG, founder, operator, and angel-investor experience.
Sunil Rajan, CAIA
Director, Capital
Antler
Antler Capital Director in Southeast Asia focused on institutional investors and family offices.
Hannah Leach
Partner
Antler
Antler UK Partner focused on early-stage investing, fundraising strategy and ESG in venture capital.
Rajiv Srivatsa
Partner
Antler
Antler India partner and Urban Ladder co-founder focused on product, culture, and brand for early startups.
Edward Knight
President, Partner and Board Member
Antler
Antler president and board member focused on capital strategy and fund structuring.
Sandeep Casi
Partner and Head of Ibex Japan
Antler
Partner and Head of Ibex Japan, focused on Japan’s startup ecosystem and corporate-startup collaboration.
Prerna Sharma
General Partner
Antler
Antler US GP and Austin office head; early Antler employee and employee #3 at Uber Asia.
Carolina Strobel
Founding Partner, Antler Brasil
Antler
Antler Brasil founding partner and longtime LatAm technology investor.
Ronald Jan Schuurs
Partner
Antler
Antler Partner and inception-stage investor with Rocket Internet, Delivery Hero, Booz & Co and ABN Amro experience.
Naman Budhdeo
General Partner
Antler
Antler Canada GP and repeat travel-tech founder with three exits and scale-up operating experience.
Fridtjof Berge
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer
Antler
Antler co-founder and CBO overseeing global external activities and investment committees.
Nitin Sharma
Partner
Antler
Antler India partner with 12+ years in VC and 100+ startup investments across India and the US.
Alan Poensgen
Partner
Antler
Antler partner and Westwing co-founder focused on European early-stage technology startups.
TC Høiseth
Partner, Capital
Antler
Antler Capital Partner and former investment banker focused on fund capital and investor relationships.
Jussi Kallasvuo
Partner
Antler
Antler Finland Partner and former Evervest founder focused on Nordic inception-stage startups.
Adam French
Partner
Antler
Antler UK partner and Scalable Capital co-founder focused on early-stage fintech and technology.
Kristian Jul Røsjø
Partner
Antler
Antler Norway Partner focused on fundraising, partnerships and Nordic founder support.
Bernie Li
General Partner, Antler Canada
Antler
Antler Canada GP and former Pure Energies co-founder backing inception-stage Canadian founders.
Team
Linh Vo
Investment and Portfolio Associate
Antler
Antler Vietnam associate focused on pre-seed scouting and portfolio support.
Lanna Roche
Investment Analyst
Antler
Antler Singapore investment analyst supporting seed and early-stage founders.
Livia Moore
Associate Partner
Antler
Antler Associate Partner investing in early-stage Nordic technology founders.
Yashveer Yadav
Associate Partner (India)
Antler
Antler India Associate Partner focused on capital formation, LP engagement and private markets.
Hala Ebrahim
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner at Antler MENAP based in Riyadh.
Jake O'Shea
Principal
Antler
US Principal at Antler focused on founder identification and investment process.
Laura Bonomini
Associate Investment Manager
Antler
Antler associate investment manager and former Wayra Germany investment lead.
Olivia Irish
Scouting Associate
Antler
Scouting Associate at Antler Indonesia focused on finding early-stage founders.
Keerat Singh Sethi
Principal
Antler
Principal at Antler Elevate in Singapore investing from Pre-A to Series C.
Juyeop Kwon
Senior Analyst
Antler
Antler Senior Analyst with B2G energy-sector startup experience.
Divita Aggarwal
Associate
Antler
Antler India Associate focused on consumer and health investments.
Frank Kang
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner and Malaysia Country Head at Antler.
Leila Oliveira
Scouting Manager
Antler
Antler Australia scouting manager sourcing and supporting pre-seed founders.
Jeff Becker
General Partner, New York
Antler
General Partner for Antler New York focused on inception-stage investing.
Chris Millisits
Principal
Antler
Principal at Antler Elevate investing in AI, SaaS and fintech.
Lyna Descamps
Corporate Innovation & Investment Analyst
Antler
Antler analyst working across corporate innovation, AI and PropTech.
Helena Barman
Senior Associate
Antler
Senior Associate at Antler Elevate in London.
Sarah Finegan
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner at Antler UK focused on early-stage investing and portfolio support.
Kelly LaBuff
Principal
Antler
Antler Principal investing across early-stage technology, climate and deep tech.
Theresa Hoffmann-Mogev
Investment Manager
Antler
Investment Manager at Antler Singapore helping founders with fundraising, GTM, and international expansion.
Sankalp Sharma
Investment Manager
Antler
Investment Manager at Antler India focused on founder networks, sourcing, and early-stage investing.
Minos Minas
Gaming Lead MENAP
Antler
Antler MENAP gaming lead with accelerator and corporate innovation experience.
Don Sidney Åkerlund
VC
Antler
Don Sidney Åkerlund is a VC at Antler associated with Antler Denmark and early-stage founder community activity.
Suan Yean Ong
Manager
Antler
Manager at Antler with a background in McKinsey and corporate innovation-related growth work.
Sarah Kimmorley
Vice President of Scouting, Marketing & Operations
Antler
VP at Antler Australia leading scouting, marketing, operations, partnerships, and people functions.
Benedikt Jaenecke
Investment Team
Antler
Berlin-based member of Antler's investment team.
Reetik Agarwal
Investment Manager
Antler
Investment Manager at Antler India focused on thesis-building, diligence, and early-stage investments.
Richard Baillie
Principal
Antler
Principal at Antler UK leading early-stage sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio founder support.
Rufus Sorsa
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner at Antler Singapore investing in and building early-stage startups across Southeast Asia.
Leo Philippsthal
Venture Capital Senior Associate
Antler
Antler VC senior associate supporting early-stage founders in Stockholm.
Christopher Klam
Investment Team
Antler
Munich-based member of Antler's investment team.
Raghav Chopra
Investment Associate
Antler
Investment Associate at Antler India focused on AI, SaaS and DeepTech.
Alexandra Hörndl
Investment Team
Antler
Antler investment team member with N26, Trade Republic and FORMEL Skin experience.
Gill Hauzmann
Investment Team
Antler
Investment team member at Antler Denmark.
Anna Munthe-Kaas
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner heading Antler Oslo, with Rocket Internet, Facebook and Unloc experience.
Gentian Kuqica
Investment Associate
Antler
Berlin-based Antler Investment Associate focused on pre-seed and seed startups.
Clara Reich
Investor
Antler
Antler investor focused on day-zero founders and the European startup ecosystem.
David Houghton
Principal
Antler
Principal at Antler and founder of Social Mobility Ventures.
Anthony Millet
Managing Partner
Antler
Managing Partner at Antler and co-head of Antler Capital.
Nina Zeh
Residency Associate
Antler
Residency Associate at Antler Norway supporting founders and sustainable early-stage businesses.
Mohamed Hamza
Investment Manager
Antler
Investment Manager at Antler MENAP focused on day-zero founders and early-stage startups.
Ojasvi Srivastava
Associate
Antler
Associate on Antler India’s portfolio team with product and fundraising startup experience.
Adriana Beattie
Visiting Analyst
Antler
Visiting Analyst at Antler focused on early-stage venture exposure.
Pedro Vitor Tucci
Investment Manager
Antler
Investment Manager at Antler Brazil focused on early-stage startups and venture building.
Caroline (Healey) McCracken
Antler
Austin-based Antler team member working with founders and US growth.
Mongi Buckens
Associate Partner - Corporate Innovation & Investment | Head of Ibex SEA
Antler
Associate Partner at Antler-Ibex SEA focused on corporate innovation and startup engagement.
Zahir Hassan
Scouting Associate
Antler
Antler Scouting Associate focused on founder sourcing, AI operations and residency support.
Job Wever
Investment Team
Antler
Antler VC investor focused on AI, deep tech, B2B SaaS and consumer.
Daphne McLarty, CPA, CA
Antler
Antler VC with startup operations and PwC deals experience.
Shambhavi Mishra
Associate Partner
Antler
Associate Partner at Antler Canada backing AI-native and category-defining startups from inception to scale.
Himank Amar
Analyst
Antler
Antler India Analyst focused on fintech investments and portfolio support.
Martin Falck
Investment & Portfolio Analyst
Antler
Antler investment and portfolio analyst supporting early-stage companies.
Public voice
Notable statements and public positions.
- We made the decision to back founders from Day Zero—investing in people before they’ve even started building their businesses.
- We’re doubling down on the best founders in Europe – with double the capital and a bigger commitment than ever. €500k at inception gives the best founders the best chance to raise pre‑seed in weeks, not months, and seed rounds in months, not years.
- We’re doubling down, but we’re also raising the bar – seeking founders with clear intent and exceptional execution.
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