🚨 Disclaimer
All research on startup and the whole investment memo has been done for personal use of Akim Arhipov.
As one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors, Antler invests in the most driven founders working on groundbreaking ideas. With a global platform and thriving community of 6700+ portfolio companies, Antler supports exceptional founders from day zero to greatness.
Antler is a venture capital firm whose team members bring a wealth of experience from top-tier organizations such as McKinsey and JP Morgan. With a strong focus on supporting early-stage companies, Antler has invested in over 100 startups so far. The team has an impressive track record of spotting unique investment opportunities and making them happen.
Their first fund has achieved a gross MOIC of 2.52x and a net IRR of 25.8% as of Q2'22. The team operates in Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen and plans to expand to Finland and the Baltics.
With their second fund, they target EUR 100m and continue investing in early-stage startups. They will place greater emphasis on Planet Positive startups and aim to have at least 40% of their portfolio companies founded by women.
Fund I results (so far)
Size of the fund: $36m ($148m external capital raised by portfolio companies)
Investments: 126
Survival rate: 86%
Net IRR: 20,7%
Gross MOIC: 2,33%
Gross TVPI: 1,60%
Average Startup Age: 1,71%
Geos: Norway (36 investments) / Denmark (16 investments) / Finland (2 investments) / Sweden (72 investments)
Advisors: network of 600+ experts globally and 40+ in the Nordics
Partnerships: Google for Startups, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Stripe and other tech firms
Portfolio highlights Fund I
Case Study from Fund I
Modoyo - means the Mojo Dojo; a place where we nurture stellar collaboration and an environment where the best ideas can crystallize and flourish.
They are a new studio in Stockholm, Sweden, founded by game industry veterans from EA, Sega, DICE, King, Avalanche, Mojang and more. Their strong intention is to grow an environment where the best ideas, conversations and collaborations make up the most creative and psychologically safe atmosphere in the industry.
Fund II and Thesis
Thesis: Fund II will concentrate on purpose-driven investments that are planet-positive and certified under SFDR Article 8. Institutionalising investments in the very early-stage ecosystem.
Industry focus: Agnostic, with an increased focus on Planet-Positive companies
Geos: Nordics - with focus on Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland
Target fund size: EUR 100m (c.50% first close). Reason for fund size: Slightly more portfolio companies, more follow-on reserves to capture value, increased valuations
Target # of investments: Ca. 150 startups
Target investment stage: Pre-seed for initial ticket (175k EUR avg. over deployment) with follow-ons in the best performers
Fund II will draw on learnings and improvements from the past 4 years of running Antler:
- Going deeper in the Nordic venture cap ecosystem
- Local knowledge
- Extensive relationships
- Extended deal-flow of direct deals
- Making smarter Investment decisions
- Market timing
- Attractiveness
- Being bold
- Driving harder towards Operational excellence
- Founder sourcing
- Team excellence
Model, Dealflow and Portfolio
- Investment model - Antler is establishing the pre-seed asset class within the Nordic region, creating value for fund investors, the entire ecosystem, and founders.
- Deal Flow - Antler collaborates with other VCs as co-investors to invest at an earlier stage than most players in the Nordics.
- Portfolio Construct - There is a strong case for investing in early-stage funds after economic downturns as they tend to outperform late-stage peers. This can be seen in a comparison of pooled net IRR for different stage funds year-over-year, with the best vintage being represented by 2010.
Kristian Jul Røsjø - Partner at Antler / Climate Tech, PropTech, Energy / ex-Statoil
Livia Moore - Associate Partner, Marketing & PR / Climate Tech, HealthTech, Saas / ex-Tink
Oscar S Westergård - Partner at Antler / FinTech, Entertainment, IoT / ex-Spotify
Anders Hammarbäck - Partner at Antler / EdTEch, FinTech, AI / ex-McKinsey
Michael J. Wiatr - GP at Antler / SustainTech, Marketplaces, Media / ex-BCG
Investment terms
Fund mandate: Nordic Pre-Seed/Early-Stage
Fund Size: 100m€
Lifetime: 10 years
Management Fees: 2% p.a. during investment period
Carried interest: 20% from 1x to 3x returns, 25% above 3x
Structure and domicile: Sweden, AB structure
Timeline: First close planned Q2 2023
For the fff.vc members
Minimal ticket: 10 000€
Fees for fff.vc members: 7% on off fee + 7% carried interest
In order to indicate your interest, please fill in the FORM> and we will get in touch with you.
