Antler, a Singapore-based global early-stage venture capital firm, announced that it has raised a new UK fund at £21.4M (approx €25M) to back 70 new UK technology companies.
The investors and advisors include Eduardo Saverin’s Light VC, the founders of Quantum Black, Monzo, and Comply Advantage, as well as members of the senior teams at unbound, Babylon Health, Octopus Ventures, Collective Ventures, Blackrock, JP Morgan, PJT, Arctic Securities, and McKinsey.
“With the UK fund now closed, we’re excited to be in a stronger position to support even more young businesses,” said Ollie Purdue, Partner of Antler London.
He adds,“We are now aiming to double our capacity in the UK, helping more founders start their next business than ever before. We also have more exciting announcements coming soon – so watch this space.”
The announcement comes around two months after raising over $300M (approx €260M) from various investors, including Schroders, Vækstfonden, Phoenix Group, and others.
Fund utilisation
The funding will allow Antler to invest in talented individuals and pre-seed stage companies through its London Cohort, which will launch in February 2022.
“We’ve grown our UK team with the head of partnership and a program associate, and looking to grow further in 2022,” Veronika Patkai, Associate Partner at Antler London.
She adds “We’re accepting applications for our fifth UK cohort, which starts in February 2022, and is looking forward to supporting the next phase of exceptional individuals, regardless of their background, origin, and gender.”
Antler in the UK
Antler has been investing in the UK since 2019, with a portfolio of 35 companies in total. 16 of them joined the portfolio in 2021.
Currently, the UK team is headed by partners Ollie Purdue, Antoine Poirson and Veronika Patkai, and invests across sectors.
The UK portfolio includes:
- Nail care innovator – Glaize
- Sexual wellness application – Blueheart
- AI powered healthcare marketplace – Vamstar
- Virtual team venue – Unlock
- Mortgage tech platform – Mast
Antler plans to invest £120,000 as the first cheque in all of its UK portfolio companies that complete the cohort, and holds capital in reserve for investing up to and including Series C.
Antler: What you need to know
Founded in Singapore in 2017, Antler builds and invests in the ‘defining technology companies of tomorrow.’ The firm has offices globally across most major entrepreneurial hubs such as London, Berlin, Bangalore, Stockholm, Oslo, New York, Singapore, and Sydney.
To date, the company has invested in over 350 companies globally across 30 different industries since 2018. Of these companies, 40 per cent have at least one female co-founder and 70 nationalities have been represented.
