Antler secures $50m from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, others

Global startup enabler and early-stage VC firm Antler has raised an additional US$50 million to help fuel its international ambitions.

Antler CEO and founder Magnus Grimeland / Photo credit: Antler

Notable among new investors are Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Elaine Saverin, investor and philanthropist Christen Sveeas through Kistefos, Norway-based holding company Canica, and Japanese financial services company Credit Saison.

It plans to spread out the newly secured investment into its funds in Amsterdam, London, New York, Stockholm, Oslo, Sydney, Nairobi, and Singapore. It is also planning to launch in Jakarta and in other global locations this year, according to a statement.

“When it comes to delivering strong returns, it is critical that Antler works across several regions and can help scale companies globally. It does this with an incomparable combination of global reach and deep local expertise,” said Gunnar Jacobsen, an investment director at Kistefos.

Founded in 2017, Antler runs programs for startups in eight locations worldwide. It helps founders to build tech startups from the ground up through its programs, then later provides pre-seed and later-stage capital to successful companies. Antler has local funds in each geography in order to deploy this funding, which can range from US$100,000 to US$200,000.

Since its launch in Singapore in 2018, it claims to already have invested in over 120 companies, many of which receiving further funding from VC firms such as Sequoia Capital and Golden Gate Ventures. Antler said that its portfolio includes companies in 17 industries and founders from 36 nationalities.

In November 2019, Antler and the National University of Singapore (NUS) announced a new executive program aimed at nurturing more deep-tech startups. Under the program, Antler may invest US$100,000 in successful startups, with NUS potentially following on with a further US$74,000 investment.