The ‘startup generator’ Antler has raised another $50 million to support fledgling startups, with investment from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, according to TechCrunch.
With locations in London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, New York, Sydney, Nairobi, and Singapore, Antler offers a company building program for selected applicants, focused on early-stage funding. They assist entrepreneurs in the first steps of establishing their companies, such as finding a co-founder and settling on their idea, while providing pre-seed funding and a stipend for living expenses. If companies are successful, later stage funding is also available.
“At Antler, we aim to work with exceptional people regardless of their industry or specialization, as long as they have a clear spike, drive and grit,” founder Magnus Grimeland told TechCrunch. “We also specifically aim at diverse cohorts, to mix great technologists, product builders and operators. This includes extremely strong people who’ve been part of building great technology companies before, such as Spotify, iZettle, Grab or Lazada, or sold their previous startups.”
Grimeland co-founded the fashion e-commerce platform Zalora, which was later acquired by Global Fashion Group, where he served as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer.
Antler is looking to invest in a broad range of startups, going beyond deep tech to fund fintech, proptech, robotics, and startups in other sectors. It accepts around 3 percent of its applicants globally.
Antler says it has invested in 120 companies since 2018, with investments of $100k to $200k. The diverse portfolio includes startups in 17 industries, founders of 36 nationalities, with over half of Antler’s companies including at least one female founder. Many founders have helped build other successful tech companies, including Spotify, iZettle, Grab, and Lazada, and in some cases have sold previous startups.
Many of Antler’s companies, such as Airalo, Cognicept, and Sampingan, have already announced additional funding from venture capital firms such as Sequoia and Golden Gate Ventures.
While he’s most widely known for his role with Facebook, Saverin has since concentrated on investments in Asia. In April, he closed out a $406 million round for his venture capital firm B Capital.
Other notable new investors in Antler include the Norwegian firms Kistefos and Canica International, and the Japanese financial services company Credit Saison. The company is planning to launch a new location in Jakarta later this year.
“We are looking forward to seeing our existing portfolio of exciting startups expand, and launching more Antler programmes in 2020.”
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