Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm with a presence in more than 30 cities, announced it has closed Antler SEA Fund II, its second fund in Southeast Asia, at $72 million.
The fund is three times the size of its predecessor and will focus on early-stage tech companies in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Over the next few months, Antler The company plans to inject $27 million from the fund into 45 startups across Southeast Asia to provide pre-launch, pre-seed and seed funding.
Part of this investment is Antler Residency Program Conferences were held across the region, with Malaysia allocated $3 million (more than RM13 million).
The residency program is aimed at early-stage startups as well as potential founders.
Participants will gain access to a community of entrepreneurs, expert mentorship, a global network of institutional investors, and early stage capital support.
The fund is supported by global and regional limited partners, with more than half of its contributions coming from institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and university endowments.
The close of this latest fund comes at a time of growing investor interest in early-stage investments, driven by rapid digitalization and strong economic growth in Southeast Asia.
Antler also introduced a new fundraising initiative, Agreement for Rolling Capital (ARC), enabling early-stage founders to secure up to $600,000 within the first nine months of their company’s lifecycle.
Additionally, Antler will continue to back growth-stage startups with up to $10 million in scale-up capital through its emerging growth fund, Antler Elevate, a $285 million fund that will invest in emerging companies globally.
Antler’s first Southeast Asia fund invested in 91 companies, including Airaro, Libero, Cassier, BlueSheet and VoloPay.
Antler has helped over 1,000 startups across industries across the globe.
“We are thrilled to partner with Antler to bring this technology to market,” said Jussi Salovaara, co-founder and managing partner at Antler.
“SEA Fund II marks a new chapter in Antler’s mission to support founders from early stage through growth. As a global, multi-stage investor, we believe now is the right time to build.”
Technological advancements in AI, access to capital, and the growth of markets in Southeast Asia are creating an excellent environment for innovation and the development of global leaders.”
Antler Malaysia will launch its second batch in July 2024 with 68 founders, with the next batch due to start in October.
Applications are currently being accepted for Antler’s third cohort in Malaysia, starting in October 2024. Open to startups I am seeking funding.
Featured Image Credit: Free Pick
