KUALA LUMPUR: Venture capital firm Antler has closed its second South-East Asia fund, Antler SEA Fund II, at US$72mil.
The new fund will continue investing in early-stage tech-enabled companies in South-East Asia with pre-launch, pre-seed, and seed capital, it said in a statement.
“Over the next few months, the fund targets to invest US$27mil in 45 early-stage startups.
“Part of the funding will support startups formed during the Antler Residency Programmes held across South-East Asia, where a total of US$3mil has been earmarked for Malaysia,” it said.
Antler said the residency, which is open to startups with co-founders already in the early stages, as well as individuals with the experience and potential to become founders, will provide unique access to a community of entrepreneurs, building expertise, a global network of institutional investors, and capital from day zero.
“The next cohort for Malaysia is scheduled to kick off in October this year,” it said.
The fund has successfully invested in multiple promising companies in Malaysia, including diagnostic solutions provider Biogenes Technologies, construction projects management platform COEX, and MessengerCo, an artificial intelligence-powered business-to-business procurement platform for corporate gifting and merchandise.
It said Antler SEA Fund II is supported by global and regional limited partners, with over 50% of the fund composed of institutional investors, including a sovereign wealth fund, pension fund, and university endowment.
To support founders from the earliest stages of building to the growth stage, Antler has introduced ARC (Agreement for Rolling Capital) -- a newly launched fundraising initiative for early-stage founders to secure up to US$600,000, including the initial investment, pro-rata follow-on, and ARC within the first nine months of a company’s lifecycle.
Antler will also continue to invest up to US$10mil of scale-up capital in growth-stage startups from Series A onwards through its emerging growth fund, Antler Elevate.
“The US$285mil fund invests globally in breakout companies, including within Antler’s early-stage funds,” it said.
Antler Malaysia has opened applications for their third cohort in Malaysia starting in October 2024. — Bernama
