A fresh wave of energy is headed for Australia’s startup ecosystem as Antler kicks off its 15th residency, bringing together 57 founders from approximately 2,000 applications.

To scout these founders and invest in great companies, Antler selects only the best, with less than 1% of applicants securing investment.

The founders selected are diverse and exceptional: some are first-time founders, and others are experienced founders building their next venture. All are outliers with relentless drive, high aspirations and ready to build.

Here’s a breakdown of the incoming cohort:

• Average Age: 30.3
• Countries Represented: 20
• Backgrounds: 45% technical, 40% commercial, and 15% domain experts
• Where Founders Are Based: 51% in Sydney, 37% in Melbourne, and 12% in Brisbane
• Previously Founded a Startup: 61%
• At Least One Prior Exit: 4%

With Antler, founders go further, faster. Our residency and team fuel momentum, giving founders opportunity to build alongside world-class talent, access to capital, and partners who’ve walked the founder’s journey to build category-defining companies.

What does that look like?

In Australia, Antler runs a 10-week residency twice a year – in February and August – designed to promote early-stage company formation and enable founders to secure Pre-Seed funding. You can learn more about how that works here.

The residency has been launched in Sydney this week, with founders from across Australia coming together to accelerate their startup journey.

While the first week focuses on getting to know the other founders by doing icebreakers, design sprints, sharing sessions, and social events, the next nine weeks fly by! Surrounded by other hungry and ambitious individuals, founders work through co-founder matching and idea validation (or invalidation). They attend masterclasses on key VC and startup topics, fireside chats with domain experts, and participate in design sprints, ideation sessions and pitches. And, of course, they have access to office hours with the Antler team while building their business.

The magic is in the environment

What makes the Antler residency unique is how quickly it turns ideas into action. James McClure, Partner at Antler, says: “The magic is in the environment. Founders are surrounded by top-tier peers, sharing insights, lessons and strategies in real time. Combined with our experience from thousands of founders and hundreds of investments, this accelerates the path from concept to investment-ready startup.“

But don’t take our word for it. Hear it firsthand from those who have done it:

“The pitch approach and idea-testing frameworks were incredibly focused,” says Carley Scott, founder of Space CoLAB. “[The residency was] exactly what I need to refine my early-stage strategy.”

Meanwhile, Helena Ngo, CEO of Raffy Allergy, says: “Antler gives you structure while leaving room to explore. It’s all about validating a VC-backable idea and finding the right co-founder. With the right mindset, it sets you up to go far.”

‍Taking founders further, faster

Antler is also very clear with founders during the interview process and throughout the residency on what success looks.

"By the end of 10 weeks,” says James, “we want to see paying customers or significant interest in an initial feature, deep insights into the customer problem, and teams tackling areas where they have a real advantage."

And his advice to founders starting this residency?

"Find the pain and follow the money. Every vertical has a natural flow of capital, discover the problem, then trace where the money moves."

Join Antler’s next Residency

Founders in Antler residencies get more than just guidance – they gain faster access to capital from day zero to Series C, mentorship from a global network of experts, and collaboration opportunities across 1,600+ portfolio companies in 30 offices worldwide.

We open applications for our next residency in April. Apply now, and you can learn more about who we are and what we do here.