LAUNCH YOUR STARTUP, GET FUNDED IN 8 WEEKS WITH ANTLER IN AUSTRALIA
We back Australia's most ambitious founders at inception and pre-seed.
Eight weeks surrounded by outliers, guided by partners who’ve built companies themselves. No hand-holding, no startup bootcamp — a path to capital, conviction, and a network that makes you move.
Find your co-founder
We support co-founder matching, idea validation and business building.
Receive dedicated coaching
We provide coaching and access to a network of founders and experts.
Kickstart your VC funding
We invest Pre-Seed and provide follow-on funding up to Series C.
Partner with a global leader
We are a global partner for future expansion with 30 locations worldwide.
HOW ANTLER WORKS
In Australia, we run a 8-week residency twice a year - in February and July - designed to promote early-stage company formation and enable founders to secure Pre-Seed funding.
The next residency in Australia starts in July, 2026.
Fewer than 1% make it in. You'll meet our partners, sharpen your thinking under pressure, and show you can execute — not just ideate.
Learn more about what we look for in a founder:
“As a global fund, Antler’s access to networks is unmatched—I’d estimate that 1 in every 3 dollars Sapyen has raised so far is tied, directly or indirectly, to Antler’s introductions or influence. I’ve leaned heavily on Antler at critical junctures, and they’ve come through without exception, every single time. Undoubtedly one of the best institutional investors on my cap table.”
“Joining the Antler residency was a defining opportunity for us at Altai, as first time founders. The access to resources, mentors of all skill sets, and a community of like-minded colleagues is really impactful. There is a real sense that they are on the journey with us and wanted us to succeed.”
“Antler’s investment and the invaluable community support has propelled Licode from an idea to a leading innovation in the software development space. Access to global expertise and resources has been instrumental in refining our strategy and accelerating our market entry.”
“Antler played a crucial role in our early days, helping us validate the idea during the residency and likely accelerating our progress by at least a year. They kept us laser-focused on what truly mattered. They’ve also opened doors we never thought possible, giving us access to networks that have really helped us grow.”
“Antler transformed my journey from a corporate professional with an idea to a startup founder. They provided invaluable education, our first cheque as validation, and access to a powerful global network.”
We’ve helped put hundreds of founders on a pathway to global success
Fuelled by a passion that goes beyond traditional investing, we exist to increase our founders’ speed and maximise their success rate in solving important problems.
1,050+
Founders supported
300+
Founders invested in
#1
Most active investor in AI
100+
Active companies
18
Companies valued > $10M
35%
Companies with > 1 women founder
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FREQUENTLY —ASKED QUESTIONS
Antler is an inception-stage VC, rather than an accelerator or incubator. Our founders get the earliest capital, hands-on guidance from partners who’ve built companies, and access to a global founder network. Through our Residency, we empower founders to identify, validate, and rapidly scale their ideas and business model. We don’t launch and leave; instead, we keep supporting our founders throughout their company's life cycle.
Antler is business model and industry agnostic. This can be seen via the breadth of our portfolio.
Globally, Antler has invested in over 1,000+ companies to date across many industries. In Australia, we have an active portfolio size of >100 companies that is well balanced across different sectors. We have:
- Enterprise SaaS startups operating in construction site management, cyber security, Talent management, and computer vision.
- Digital platforms in verticals such as health, learning, pet services.
- Services and D2C in waste management, consumer loyalty, fashion and personalised books.
- Fintech and Insurtech startups within SME lending and new insurance products covering a range of industries such as SaaS, FinTech, GreenTech, ConsumerTech.
- Deeptech startups from startups built and led by AI/ ML technologies, through to biotechnology, data analytics, space and aviation and more.
People rarely fit into neat categories, but broadly speaking it is those with the skills relevant to early stage business building combined with Founder DNA:
Backgrounds:
- Returning founders: Tried and tested founders who have valuable experience through successes and/or failures and are ready to build their next venture.
- Business leaders: Commercial pros with strengths in go-to-market, business model building, and securing customers and capital.
- Technology and product leaders: Builders with their hands on in the code base, architecting scalable systems, or setting and executing on the product vision and leading teams.
- SMEs or functional experts: Those with a specialised skill set that unlocks the idea behind a business usually from professional or academic experience. These individuals have identified an unmet customer need in their field, under utilised technology, or hold Intellectual Property that can be commercialised.
- 0 to 1: Seasoned in startups and highly knowledgeable in early-stage through to hypergrowth, these individuals have held defining roles in the growth journey of companies.
- Visionaries: Those that have exceptional, unique, and non-conventional backgrounds and see that world a different way, complemented with strong grit and hustle to be successful.
Founder DNA:
- Creative problem solving: Those who can intelligently and creatively navigate a pathway to an outcome.
- Inner drive: Self-starters that can motivate themselves and others to join and unite in fulfilling a mission. Often seen through a track record of reaching achievements earlier than expected or having set high, long term, goals and reached them.
Grit: Those with an energy source that never runs low, able to find a window when the door closes. Seen via a willingness and ability to keep going when faced with obstacles.
We don’t invest in solo founders. Most people join Antler solo, but the goal of the residency is to form a complementary founding team. You’ll meet potential co-founders, test dynamics, and build your company together.
Antler is the first investor. We back founders at inception, often pre-team, pre-product, or pre-revenue. If you’ve already raised a meaningful pre-seed round, you’re likely too far along for our residency.
That said, many successful Antler founders joined with elements already in place, an MVP, early customers, or a team. What matters is whether Antler can still be catalytic: helping you build momentum, form the right team, and raise your first significant round faster than you could alone.
Absolutely. We encourage you to have preliminary conversations with other investors including but not limited to angel investors, friends and family as well as other institutional investors. That said, you should not be soliciting term sheets whilst you are in Residency. This process of raising a priced equity round or SAFE should happen after you complete the Residency.
The true value of building with Antler comes post-investment, as that unlocks our portfolio support consisting of:
- Ability to follow-on from the local fund
- Antler Australia has deployed additional capital into >80% of our portfolio
- We aim to follow-on programmatically up to Series A stage
- We have invested over A$1M into multiple companies over multiple rounds
- A global fund to back companies through their later rounds
- Antler Elevate has US$280M fund designed to back Antler businesses from Series A-C with average cheque sizes of $3-10M
- Warm introduction to external capital from angels and other institutional investors
- Ongoing business coaching and advisory from our global network
- International scaling support driven through Antler’s on the ground presence in 23 regions
- Introductions to partners, funding sources, key hires
- Antler’s ability to spot synergies and intel from over 700 global transactions to inform coaching
- Perks and partnerships that by the sum of parts now exceed $3M in value
- The Talent Network, Antler’s proprietary platform to connect Antler portfolio companies to vetted job seekers
- Community support via Slack and in-person initiatives
Apply now for Antler Australia
By founders for founders, our team is made up of entrepreneurs and early-stage experts.
THE ANTLER AUSTRALIA TEAM
Mike is a Partner at Antler Australia and co-leads the Australia operations. He's a seasoned operator and investor who kickstarted his career in equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.
Mike's journey with Uber began as the second employee in Asia and the 121st globally. As the Head of Operations for Australia and New Zealand, he played a pivotal role in building a thriving multi-billion-dollar business locally. Over the course of six years, he witnessed the local team's remarkable growth, scaling it from just three members to a formidable team of over 500. This experience gave him invaluable insights into scaling businesses and driving growth in challenging markets.
Following his time at Uber, Mike co-founded and led Kaddy, a B2B marketplace. Under his leadership as CEO, Kaddy was acquired for $34 million within three years.
Mike also brings over 20 years of investment experience, including numerous direct and indirect angel investments. His diverse background and extensive experience have made him a sought-after advisor and mentor, offering valuable insights to early stage businesses.
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James is a Partner at Antler Australia, where he co-leads the Australian operations. He is a seasoned C-level executive, bringing over 15 years of global tech operating experience across EMEA, APAC, and the US.
James began his career at Google, spending eight years across London, Sydney, and Singapore, where he helped launch and scale new markets across APAC as the first employee in multiple countries in South and SE Asia, as well as launching YouTube across the regionHe then joined Airbnb as General Manager for the UK and Northern Europe, leading regional growth with full P&L responsibility - including a period working directly for Brian Chesky on the growth of Experiences.
Following this, James was EVP Global Business & GM International at SeatGeek (now a unicorn), leading the company’s global B2B2C operations across EMEA and APAC. Most recently, he was Chief Commercial Officer at Adzuna, running the business across 16 global markets.
Alongside, James has been an active angel investor since 2012, with over 14 years of investing experience supporting early-stage founders globally including investing before or alongside Sequoia, 20VC and Balderton
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Sarah is responsible for scaling Antler’s presence in Australia by delivering operational efficiencies and frameworks across the firm. Sarah is also responsible for Antler Australia’s marketing and brand presence, partnerships and business development, and people and culture. Before joining Antler, Sarah was the General Manager at Business Insider Australia and Gizmodo Media Group, leading four globally renowned digital media brands in Australia.
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Michael Kron is an Associate Partner at Antler and leads Australia's Antler portfolio and investor relationships. He led the raise of Antler's second Australia fund and global funds and now coaches Antler's founders on growth and fundraising to drive success, with a focus on the first 12 months. Michael is also a member of the Investment Advisory Committee for two Antler funds. Prior to Antler, Michael has 10+ years of strategy consulting experience, has been an independent advisor for CEOs and global startups from seed to Series A, worked at Square Peg and was the co-founder of a renewable energy startup.
Early in his career, Michael was an environmental lawyer, environmental engineer and was founder and CEO of an education business for 10+ years.Michael has a MBA from Melbourne Business School and Environmental Engineer and Law degrees from University of Melbourne.
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Stefan is leading Antler in Australia's expansion into Queensland as Director of the state. He has a proven track record of leadership, innovation and results at companies such as ClimateSalad, AWS, GorillaStack, Telstra's accelerator, muru-D, and Dimension Data. Stefan has been in tech startups since the 90s, holding roles in development, systems engineering, product management, product marketing, business development, corporate development and sales. He has built customer facing teams, partner programs and channels globally for startups and enterprises.
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Min is the Finance Manager in Australia. Min is responsible for leading Antler’s Australian finance function.
Min is an experienced finance professional spanning over 15 years having held senior roles across telecommunications, fin-tech and banking industries. His most recent role was head of finance in a web3 stablecoin project.
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Rachel leads the community function and delivery for Pre-Launch founders at Antler. This involves managing all cohort operations for the Antler founders in the Formation and Validation stage of the process, curating learning and development content. Prior to joining Antler, Rachel had over 10 years of experience in tertiary education with the Australian Graduate School of Management.
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Leila is a Scouting Manager at Antler, the world’s most active early-stage VC. She works on founder sourcing across Australia, backing ambitious people at day zero and helping them turn raw ideas into venture-scale businesses.
With 7+ years of startup experience across Brazil and Australia, she brings a sharp eye for talent, a deep understanding of founder-market fit, and a passion for building inclusive, high-performing ecosystems.
Leila is a LinkedIn Top Voice and the creator of a newsletter that demystifies capital raising and startup life for early-stage founders. She’s also a contributor to Grapevine, an initiative working to reshape power dynamics and champion accountability across the startup space.
She holds a Master of Business Administration - MBA in Business, Management, and Marketing from Brazil’s School of Advertising and Marketing (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing) and an Advanced Diploma in Leadership and Management from the Australian Pacific College.
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Sid is the Scouting Manager for Antler's NSW operations. He brings over 6 years of experience across professional services, fintech, and sales enablement.
He began his career in audit and accounting at KPMG and PwC, before moving into account management at Mastercard. In 2024, he co-founded Anova, a financial literacy startup for young adults working with universities like Macquarie & UTS. Most recently, Sid was at Earlywork, an early-stage startup where he helped 400+ Australians transition into sales careers and partnered with 50+ employers (including Antler portfolio companies). He is also the Co-Founder of Impact Circle, a community for ambitious founders, hosting curated monthly roundtables.
Sid holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University.
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Felipe is a Marketing Content Producer who works closely with founders and internal teams to shape brand narratives, tell founder stories, and develop content and campaigns that support long-term brand positioning.
With experience across consultancy, startup ecosystem communities, and early-stage startups, he brings a cross-functional perspective to building brand presence and supporting founder-led initiatives within the startup ecosystem.
Felipe holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Pernambuco and a Master’s degree in Business Information Systems from Torrens University.
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Devna is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Antler, where she supports Antler-backed founders through portfolio management and investment activities, drawing on experiences from both sides of the table.
Prior to Antler, she worked in her family's supermarket chain, moved into M&A and corporate strategy at HUB24, Australia's leading wealth management platform, and then founded Mr Danks Liquor, an alcohol e-commerce startup, gaining firsthand experience of what it takes to build from zero. Most recently, she spent time in the UK pursuing further education and engaging with the investment ecosystem across Europe and Africa through female founder funds and communities including Women Capital, Chrysalis Collective, and xWAVES.
Devna holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Arts from Monash University and an MBA from the University of Oxford.
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Antler portfolio companies raise capital from other leading VCs
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