Antler has launched its latest residency in Australia with 63 founders selected from more than 2,100 applicants.
In what is a first for the Australian residency, the founders, from all over Australia have come together in Sydney to spend the first week of the program together.
“By spending this foundational week in Sydney together, we believe it will increase the speed and success of co-founder matching, lead to better more innovative ideas, and ultimately form the strongest early-stage startups,” says James McClure, General Partner.
“Day one consisted of talks, ice breakers, group lunches,, and socialising over food and drinks.
“It’s exciting to see these people we have got to know so well over the rigorous application process find connections and be inspired. And this is just the beginning... Watch this space to see the exceptional businesses they form over the next 10 weeks.”
For the remainder of the 10-week program, the founders will be able to choose to build their startups from either the Antler office in Sydney or Melbourne.
Here’s a quick snapshot of Australia’s 12th residency
- 50:50 tech: commercial background split
- 20% women founders
- 40% Melbourne-based founders
- 75% former founders
- 10% have raised VC money before
- 10% exited founders
Other insights:
- 42 average age
- 20 countries of birth are represented
- 6 years average entrepreneurial experience
- 37% have a Bachelors degree
- 43% have a Masters degree
- 15% have a Doctorate degree
Founders join Antler because of its unique and valuable support for early-stage company building. Throughout the 10-week residency, Antler facilitates co-founder matching, idea and business model validation, and provides a clear and achievable pathway to Pre-Seed investment.
Once founders secure initial capital, Antler’s true value as an investor is unlocked with portfolio companies benefiting from follow-on funding rounds with Antler, introductions to other VCs and investors in Australia and overseas, as well as being able to plug into our global platform to grow and scale.
Over the last six months, the Australian startup landscape has seen some ups and downs for early-stage founders.
The positives have been that capital is starting to flow steadily back into the ecosystem, with a rise of interest from international investors, creating more fundraising opportunities for founders, and valuable government incentives and grants for founders coming back online such as the MVP Ventures Program. Additionally, success stories including Canva’s acquisition of Leonardo.AI, represents what could be the beginning of a new era for the broader Australian technology industry.
These bright spots have been amid continued economic uncertainty and market fluctuations which have seen cautious investment approaches and longer fundraising cycles, as well as some valuation challenges with some startups.
James, Antler’s Partner, recently wrote about some of these challenges and how hard it is to raise the necessary capital in Australia to scale and grow in a Startup Daily article.
“The result is investor feedback like, ‘Come back to us when you have $1M revenue’, ‘Let me know once you have a lead investor’, or ‘We typically invest in B2B SaaS only,” says James.
“This is often VC code for ‘Tell me when it’s safe enough for me to make a decision because someone else has done the hard work’.”
Recognising that Australia risks losing out on its opportunity to stamp itself as a global hub for innovation, Antler takes a contrarian approach.
“At Antler, we believe with expert advice, faster access to capital from day zero to Series C, and transparent investment terms and timelines – the next great Australian success story will be founded in the next couple of years,” says James.
How do we do that? Founders who are successful in the Antler residency and secure funding at our investment committee, receive a $225,000 Pre-Seed cheque and land a globally-recognised VC on their cap table, all in a matter of 10 weeks.
Already, Antler has backed deeptech innovators like Xailient’s computer vision at the edge, medtech rising stars like Sapyen’s male fertility solution, and AI breakouts such as Tactiq’s AI-powered meeting solutions.
These are just three of the 18 businesses we’ve invested in valued over $10 million, some of which are trading at 20-50x the initial valuation.
By joining our residencies, Antler founders unlock the opportunity to have faster access to capital to grow from day zero to Series C; mentorship and guidance from Antler’s global network of experts and advisors; and opportunities for collaboration across the 1,600+ portfolio companies and 30 offices globally.
Want to know more? Read this article to find out what the founders in Australia’s 12th residency will be doing over the next 10 weeks from masterclasses to design sprints.
If you’re ready to build a business with Antler, the world’s day zero investor, the next residency kicks off on Feb 5th 2025. Apply to join.
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