Antler’s 2026 AI push skips agents for robotics

Much of the tech world is bracing for the AI bubble to burst, but Southeast Asia might dodge most of the fallout because the region never inflated in the first place, says Jussi Salovaara, co-founder and managing director of Singapore-based VC firm Antler.

Global investments in AI companies – driven largely by US players – reached US$149.1 billion as of October 2025, according to Crunchbase. Those based in Asia got US$9.2 billion during the same period, with the number growing each quarter.

Antler is looking to tap into that growth. Salovaara shares that 75% of the firm’s deployment in Southeast Asia and Japan in 2026 will be directed to AI companies.

One of the main drivers of this effort is the Disrupt program, which will make up half of the firm’s 2026 deployment. The initiative was called AI Disrupt when it was announced in March 2025, but Antler dropped AI in the name to draw in startups working on robotics and other emerging technologies.

“We wanted to make sure that we don’t lose teams that are exciting and disruptive because they don’t feel like they’re doing AI,” Salovaara tells Tech in Asia. In particular, he is bullish on robotics and has received several pitches within the space from Japan.

The first two cohorts of Disrupt had 14 participants including Synthium and Drift, which focus on building software for robot training. Antler plans to invest US$15 million across the program’s four batches this year.

Salovaara is bullish on robotics and expects to have more startups from the sector in future Disrupt cohorts. / Photo credit: Antler

Disrupt picks seven companies per cohort, and they are typically between three months to a year old, according to Salovaara. Most participants have a product as well as commercial traction, and the program is geared toward “helping with go-to-market and accelerating the commercial side of things.”

Salovaara emphasizes that Disrupt wants to attract startups from the broader Asia-Pacific region and not just those in Southeast Asia.

Disrupt participants are often keen to make the US a big component of their business. As such, Antler will also help startup founders who want to relocate to the US, which Salovaara believes will become more common.

Antler aims to pour a total of over US$50 million in at least 100 new companies across Asia this year, but he notes that the firm will be more selective in its investment strategy. In practice, this will reduce the number of investments it makes, but its average check size will go up since Disrupt is playing a bigger role.

Previously, Disrupt charged a US$40,000 program fee, which would then be deducted from the US$400,000 capital that Antler injected into each participant. The check size will remain the same for 2026, but Antler is looking to remove the fee.

Mystery shopping

While Salovaara says Antler remains open-minded about which verticals to prioritize, he hopes to see more companies focused on AI for fintech as they are uncommon despite how big the sector is in Asia. He is also eyeing medtech AI and startups building AI infrastructure tools.

“The life of a VC is to partially have a shopping list, but then to do a lot of mystery shopping too,” he says.

“Idiots in the room”