Antler 🚀 Accelerator

What you get

Antler calls itself an inception-stage VC rather than an accelerator: it backs founders from "day zero" and can keep investing through Series C. It says terms are set locally by each Antler fund and vary by market, and it does not publish one global term sheet.

On its Nordic pages (Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki) the standard deal is EUR 500,000 (about $575,000):

• EUR 200,000 upfront: EUR 100,000 for 8.5% equity plus EUR 100,000 on an uncapped convertible with an MFN clause.
• Up to EUR 300,000 follow-on: one third of what you raise from professional investors, on your lead's terms, within nine months of Antler's first cheque.

Antler takes no board seat and is usually the first investor on your cap table.

Who qualifies

You can apply alone or with a team, before you have a co-founder, a company or a product. The apply form covers cities across Asia-Pacific (e.g. Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangalore, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh), the Americas (Austin, New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Toronto), Europe (London, Amsterdam/Berlin, Nordics) and the Middle East and Africa (Dubai, Riyadh, Lagos, Nairobi). Excluded sectors include drugs, adult entertainment and gambling.

Good to know

• Terms outside Europe differ; ask your local team for the term sheet.
• Cohort dates are per city; the Nordic page says it brings founders in as they come.

Verdict

One of the few programmes that will back you before you have a co-founder. Check the local terms carefully: 8.5% for the first EUR 100K is a meaningful share.

1. Go to antler.co/apply and choose "Idea to Pre-Seed".
2. Enter your details and pick your region and city.
3. Submit; the local team contacts you if there is a fit.
4. Ask the local team for its current term sheet, since terms vary by market.