Antler partners with Khazanah to launch in Malaysia

Antler is thrilled to announce our launch in Malaysia, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and in partnership with Khazanah.

antler

Antler

The investor backing the world's most driven founders, from day zero to greatness. Enabling thousands of founders every year to launch and scale companies that move the world forward.

Antler announces its launch in Malaysia, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, and in partnership with Khazanah.
Antler will invest in over 30 startups in Malaysia across three years, with the first venture generation program to kick off in October 2023.
Following this launch, Antler is present in four countries in Southeast Asia and across 26 locations worldwide, further anchoring its position as a global platform for scaling and capital.

Global venture capital firm Antler is extending its international footprint into Malaysia through a partnership with the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”), to further establish its presence across six continents, which already includes Southeast Asia—​​with existing footholds in Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Antler is one of the most active early-stage investors globally and has invested in over 792 companies in more than 25 cities worldwide, amassing a cumulative portfolio value of US$3.7 billion. 

The partnership with Antler is the latest addition to Khazanah’s Future Malaysia Programme, an initiative under its Dana Impak (Impact Fund) mandate, which aims to support the local start-up ecosystem of entrepreneurs, start-ups, venture capital, and corporate venture programmes through collaborations with domestic and international partners. Dana Impak is a RM6 billion commitment over 5 years and is a key pillar under Khazanah’s Advancing Malaysia strategy. 

The strategic alliance serves to unearth and nurture Malaysia's entrepreneurial talents and provide them access to Antler’s global platform and network, enabling them to establish themselves as the defining companies of tomorrow. By drawing upon Antler's global network of investors, founders, and advisors, this partnership will infuse new opportunities into the Malaysian entrepreneurial scene, subsequently accelerate the growth trajectory of Malaysian entrepreneurs and startups, propelling them towards international expansion and success.

Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah says, “The strategic collaboration with Antler marks a new chapter in Malaysia’s entrepreneurial landscape, underscoring Khazanah’s unwavering commitment to introducing innovative and impactful solutions. This is another step forward for our Future Malaysia Programme, which aims to scale Malaysian ideas and businesses to be globally competitive.”

“Going forward, we will continue to identify potential partners with proven track record, expertise and strategic value proposition to join us in nurturing and empowering the next generation of Malaysian entrepreneurs through this programme, offering comprehensive support throughout the entire funding lifecycle, spanning from the pre-seed stage right up to the growth stage.”

Specializing in day zero investing, Antler takes a distinctive approach to fostering startup success, setting it apart from other entrepreneurial programs. The firm is committed to supporting founders throughout their journey, starting from the pre-seed stage and extending all the way to Series A and beyond. This includes support in co-founder matching, deep business model validation, provision of initial capital, expansion assistance, and securing follow-on funding. With Antler's comprehensive investment approach, startups are backed from their very earliest days through significant growth phases.

Jussi Salovaara, co-founder and Managing Partner Asia, Antler says, “We are on a mission to fundamentally improve the world by backing and investing in the world's most exceptional people from Day Zero to greatness. Founders scale their companies faster with Antler, where they can build remarkable teams, join a global community of founders, and access capital to accelerate growth. We are especially thrilled about partnering with Khazanah to unlock this opportunity for entrepreneurs in Malaysia.”

From its new Kuala Lumpur office, Antler is aiming to invest in over 30 startups across Malaysia over the next three years, with the inaugural Venture Generation Program set to begin in October 2023 and applications are currently open.

Founders can find out more about the program here

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest news and views from Antler’s global community

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Must-read articles from Antler

Browse our collection of founder stories, industry insights and latest startup successes from Antler Australia

See articles
Insights
5 min read
The new generation of Nordic founders

The Nordics have produced some of the most successful tech unicorns in Europe—and the world—with Spotify and Klarna securing some of the highest valuations ever achieved by European tech founders. As the tech flywheel spins faster and faster in the region, Antler is excited to publish the largest study of tech founders in the Nordics ever conducted.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Manuel Schönfeld: The management consultant determined to save companies millions

Our content series "It All Starts with People" delves into the passions, motivations, and vision of the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Read the story of Manuel Schönfeld, founder and CEO of PowerX, on a mission to help businesses waste less energy and money while combatting what he calls "the largest threat to our planet since the meteor wiped out dinosaurs.”

Insights
5 min read
Build your transformational AI company with Antler

As AI technologies evolve at a breathtaking speed, founders have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage those tools to solve complex, meaningful, and pervasive problems. Antler is looking for the next wave of visionary founders committed to using AI to disrupt industries and improve how we live, work, and thrive as individuals, organizations, and economies.

Insights
5 min read
Under the hood: How Antler sources and assesses great founders

Our Window into Progress digital event series continues with "Under the Hood"—a deep dive into the rigor and scale that makes Antler unique as we source and assess tens of thousands of founders across six continents.

Insights
5 min read
The state of building today: Antler global perspectives

On the heels of publishing A Window into Progress—a global report that looks inside Antler, the world’s day zero investor—we are excited to present a digital event series offering deeper insights into our portfolio, investment approach, and unique views of the world. Our first event is "The State of Building Today," featuring perspectives on the state of VC and the startup ecosystems in Europe, the US, India, and Brazil.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Abraham Burak: The digital nomad delivering instant connectivity worldwide

Our content series "It All Starts with People" delves into the passions, motivations, and vision of the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Read the story of Abraham Burak and Bahadir Ozdemir, co-founders of Airalo, who are on a mission to make connectivity around the world accessible and affordable.

Insights
5 min read
Meet the new generation of European tech founders

As unicorns and later-stage companies are battered by the economic climate, the overall health of the European tech ecosystem looks stronger than ever, with more founders coming from big tech and unicorns to build new startups with significant growth potential. Dive into our report and get to know the new generation of European tech founders.

News
5 min read
Antler’s $285M emerging growth fund backs tomorrow’s industry leaders

Antler is thrilled to have closed Antler Elevate, a $285 million emerging growth fund that backs the next generation of game-changing founders across 20+ technology ecosystems, propelling them on their paths to greatness.