Antler backs eight new UK tech startups

Antler in the UK has invested £990K ($1.2M) into eight new tech startups in London. 

The latest portfolio additions from Antler’s last founder residency are the result of 1,800+ applications and represent a diverse mix of teams working on various verticals and technologies, spanning proptech, femtech, mobile, healthtech, B2B SaaS, and logistics. 

Founders participating in Antler’s founder residencies continue to build technologies designed to meet highly topical needs facing the economy, society, and planet. 

The investments include a proptech startup that allows rental tenants to make payments that don’t increase unexpectedly each year and allocate a portion of their rent to savings. 

They also include a femtech startup built by two former bankers that uses data and digital innovation to improve the sexual well-being of women. 

The seven pre-seed startups joining Antler’s UK portfolio are from the latest residency include: 

• Abode. Enables more home ownership for millions of families who are currently locked out from purchasing homes due to affordability.
• BoxHaul. Helps optimise the container haulage industry to save empty miles and reduce Co2 levels.
• Fittr. Brings to market cutting-edge Insight, analytics, and automation tools for fitness clubs to improve lead conversion, member lifetime value and staff productivity.
• Flexr. Evaluates movement wellness using AI vision to help fitness/wellness providers optimally guide their users to better outcomes.
• Flutter. Aims to reduce sexual pleasure inequality for women through applying data and new technologies.
• Re:invent. Empowers D2C brands to grow together through data-driven partnerships.
• Shaka. Helps brands to unlock new revenue streams and increase loyalty by offering an embedded connectivity platform and mobile plans to their customers. 

In addition, Antler made one new seed investment in June in the UK:

• CFDX. Addresses novel neuroscience problems through a data-enabled approach 

Antler continues to see record numbers of new tech founders entering the market in the UK and across Europe, despite the tech downturn. As a result, Antler made 70 new investments across Europe in the first half of 2023, more than any other private early-stage investor. From the list of the most active seed investors in Europe, Antler was the only one that increased its investment rate in H1 2023 compared to the same timeframe last year. 

Since 2019, Antler has built a European portfolio of more than 300 startups—86 of which are based in the UK. 

Jed Rose, partner at Antler, comments: “Our latest investments into British tech startups demonstrate why we believe now is the best time in years to become a tech founder. We are working with the industry’s best founders from startup, corporate, and technical backgrounds who are building technologies that will have a significant impact on consumers, established industries, and the environment. Unlike most other VC firms, we are increasing our rate of investment to ensure that a new generation of founders have the backing they need to build world-class companies.”

These eight startups are the newest additions to Antler’s global portfolio, which now comprises more than 900 startups and spans over 35 industries. A third of these companies have at least one female co-founder and Antler founders represent 144 nationalities.

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