Antler, a global venture capital firm with a strong presence in Indonesia, has committed to supporting aspiring founders and early-stage teams in the country by investing in over 30 startups in 2023. The company has already invested in 25 local startups since its launch in 2022.
Antler invests in companies from Day Zero and provides continued support throughout their journey, from forming teams to raising capital and expanding into new markets.
“We invest from Day Zero and keep backing our companies as they progress throughout their journey. This starts from forming their teams, developing an idea, securing initial capital and continues with winning their first 100 customers, expanding to new markets or product lines, raising capital, and more,” said Markus Bruderer, Partner at Antler Indonesia.
The firm is sector-agnostic and has a portfolio of companies from 16 different industries, including health tech, edtech, Direct To Consumer (DTC) brands, fintech, sustainability, software as a service (SaaS), and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) empowerment.
Antler will also launch its founder residency program for Indonesian startups in June 2023, which will provide pre-idea and pre-seed founders access to a community of business leaders, experienced operators, and tech builders to help them connect with potential co-founders.
The firm believes that their companies scale faster due to their mentoring and access to a global community of founders, advisors, and investors, as well as their local presence in 25+ markets.
Antler’s portfolio includes BASE, a direct-to-consumer beauty and wellness startup that raised $6 million in Series A funding. Yaumi Fauziah Sugiharta, the CEO of BASE, credits the Antler program for helping the company validate the market and identify the minimum viable product.
Indonesia has the highest number of startups in Southeast Asia and is sixth globally, with about 2,500 companies as of February 2023. Antler sees Indonesia as a breeding ground for fresh ideas and a proof point of the country’s growing digital economy.
Antler has offices in 25 cities worldwide, including Singapore, Vietnam, New York, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Bangalore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Sydney.