Antler backs SEA startups with $7.4m in H1 2025, focusing on AI

Antler, a Singapore-based early-stage VC, invested US$7.4 million in startups across Southeast Asia during H1 2025, focusing on AI ventures.

Seven AI startups received a combined US$2.8 million after completing Antler’s new AI Disrupt residency program in Singapore.

Each startup secured US$400,000 in funding and access to technical resources tailored for AI development.

The funded companies include Iris, Nugen, IndustrialMind.ai, Lambdai Space, Anamaya AI, AppSecAI, and 5.Y (GLUCOSE), covering sectors from workflow automation to manufacturing and travel.

This comes amid a 68% year-on-year drop in seed funding and a 53% drop in overall early-stage investments in Southeast Asia during H1 2025.

Antler said it is focusing on larger initial investments in select AI startups amid tougher fundraising conditions in the region.

🔗 Source: Antler

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Local AI startups miss out on region’s massive infrastructure investment wave

Despite Southeast Asia attracting up to $60 billion in AI investments from major tech giants, local AI startups received only $1.7 billion in funding in 20241.

The region saw just 122 AI funding deals compared to 1,845 across the broader Asia-Pacific region, highlighting a significant funding gap for homegrown companies1.

This disconnect explains why Antler’s targeted AI Disrupt program represents a meaningful intervention. The $400,000 per startup plus $650,000 in infrastructure credits directly addresses the resource constraints facing regional AI founders.

Meanwhile, over $30 billion was committed to AI-ready data centers in Southeast Asia during 2024, showing that infrastructure investment far outpaces startup funding2.

The imbalance suggests that while the region is building the foundation for AI adoption, local innovation companies struggle to access the capital needed to develop solutions that could leverage this infrastructure.

2️⃣ Counter-cyclical investing strategy emerges during severe funding winter

Antler’s $7.4 million deployment comes as venture funding in Southeast Asia has dropped nearly 80% from 2022 highs, with only three IPOs occurring in Singapore during 20253.