Embark is Antler's flagship 4–6 week traction sprint in San Francisco, designed exclusively for immigrant founders building AI-first companies for the US market. It's not an accelerator, not a bootcamp — it's a high-velocity program where Antler's team co-works alongside you daily to help you land your first US design partners, revenue, and pipeline. Embark takes place twice a year, around May and October.

Most accelerators and immersion programs focus on fundraising readiness — demo days, pitch practice, and investor intros. Embark is obsessively focused on US traction. We believe traction will LEAD to the fundraise. Our team doesn't advise from the sidelines; we're in the trenches with you daily — refining your positioning, opening doors to enterprise buyers, and pressure-testing your GTM strategy in real time. More importantly, Embark results in a mindset shift required to build a large global business. We're your sherpa, not your advisor.

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The program is structured around getting you to meaningful US GTM traction as fast as possible. Expect: deep product thinking sessions, customer discovery sprints, positioning and narrative refinement, cultural nuance for US GTM, visa and logistics support and a lot more — with the who's who of Silicon Valley. It's intense, focused, and moves fast.

We intentionally keep cohorts small — roughly 10–12 companies per batch. This ensures every founder gets deep, personalised attention from the Embark team and meaningful access to the SF ecosystem.

By the end of Embark, you should have: your first US design partners or paying customers, an active sales pipeline, clear product-market positioning for the US, a network of advisors and operators in SF, and a compelling story that makes raising your next round significantly easier.

Embark is for ambitious immigrant founders who are building AI-first companies targeting the US market. You should have an unwavering commitment to building your company in the US. We're looking for founders who are ready to relocate to SF and go all-in on US traction.

Not necessarily. Some founders join with early revenue or local customers, while others come with a strong MVP and deep domain expertise but no US traction yet. What matters most is the quality of your product thinking, the strength of your team, and your readiness to execute at high speed in the US market. We've backed founders at various stages — from pre-revenue to $1M+ ARR.

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We strongly recommend applying with a co-founder, ideally a CEO & CTO pair. However, exceptional solo founders are considered. If you're a solo founder, be prepared to articulate your plan for team-building during the program.

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No. Embark is open to all eligible founders, not just Antler portfolio companies. Earlier editions were for Antler portfolio companies only, now we welcome applications from comapnies who we can 1st fund and then Embark with. If you're building an AI-first company and are serious about the US market, we want to hear from you — if we like what you're building, we'll first invest and lead your pre-seed round with a $450K cheque and then take you with us to the Silicon Valley.

Embark takes place twice a year, in May and October. Please apply on the form. You can also highlight yourself to us with your LinkedIn profile, details of what you’re building, and a short note about yourself by emailing us at embark@antler.co, and if you’re able to get an introduction through someone in our network, that's even better.

Antler leads your pre-seed round of $600K–$800K with a $450K cheque. You will also receive >$1M in AI perks/credits. If your first round is still open, let's chat — we typically like being the first cheque/believer.

Yes, but not the way you might expect. We don't just hand you a list of VCs. We help you build traction first — because traction is the single most powerful fundraising tool. As you build pipeline and land customers, we introduce you to the right investors at the right time. 50% of the 38 companies who've done Embark have already raised follow-on capital from leading VCs.

It is non-negotiable to be in SF for Embark. The entire thesis behind Embark is that you can't build meaningful US traction remotely. You need to be in SF, camping with your customers, absorbing the cultural nuances of how Americans buy, and embedding yourself in the ecosystem. We strongly recommend that at least one co-founder (ideally the CEO or GTM lead) moves to SF full-time post Embark. Having a co-founder continue building product from home does work, but the founder driving US market traction must be physically present. We're happy to host all founders too.

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We provide an office, host sessions and mixers, and take care of some F&B and logistics during the program. Founders typically prefer to sort out their own housing close to the office space. On visas, we connect you with experienced immigration advisors who can help navigate the right pathway — whether that's B1/B2, O-1, or other options. We start the process early so visa logistics don't slow down your momentum. While we can't directly sponsor visas, we helped founders with the process.

Embark doesn't end at day 28. You become part of the Antler ecosystem permanently — with ongoing access to the network, continued investor introductions, and the support of the Antler team as you scale. You'll have lifetime access to Antler's global network of 1,400+ portfolio companies, operators, investors, and advisors across 27 markets. Most founders continue building in SF after the program, now with traction, pipeline, and relationships that would have taken years to build on their own.

Reach out to embark@antler.co. You can also connect with our team on LinkedIn.