Antler to invest $100m in SE Asia start-ups by 2025
Singapore-based VC firm Antler has committed to investing USD 100m in more than 300 Southeast Asian start-ups by 2025.
Antler has invested in more than 450 companies globally since its inception as an incubator in 2017. It currently has 127 portfolio companies in Southeast Asia.
Pre-seed funding and incubation services such as regular demo days and the Antler Launch Academy are still core to the business, although investment activity now extends as late as the Series C stage.
Local portfolio support and deal sourcing are key features; there are offices in 17 cities globally, including Singapore. The Southeast Asia presence was expanded last year with the establishment of bases in Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.
Co-founder Jussi Salovaara, previously head of global commercial strategy at Nokia, is the managing partner for Asia. The Vietnam team is led by Erik Jonsson, co-founder of Zalora Vietnam. The Indonesia team is led by Subi Lohani, a financial technology specialist and ex-CEO of auto marketplace Carmudi Indonesia.
Portfolio companies in Southeast Asia include Singapore-based electronics-focused e-commerce company Reebelo, Indonesian blue-collar worker platform Sampingan, and Hong Kong's Xanpool, a payments technology provider that raised a USD 27m Series A last year. Antler provided USD 100,000 in seed funding to Xanpool in 2019 as part of its second Southeast Asian incubation cohort.
Antler announced last year that 14 start-ups from its recent Southeast Asia cohorts would be elevated to its global platform. In Asia, this network includes an Indian program launched in 2020 with a fund targeting USD 50m. An Australia presence was established in 2019 and raised a AUD 46m (USD 32m) fund in 2021. A Korean unit was set up later that year.
LPs in Antler funds include UK asset manager Schroders, Japanese financial services player Credit Saison, US-based VC firm FinTech Collective, and Ferd, a family-owned Norwegian investment company. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Norwegian investor and philanthropist Christen Sveeas have also made fund commitments.
More on Southeast Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.