GO FURTHER, FASTER WITH ANTLER IN JAPAN
We back Japan's most ambitious founders with up to $400k at Inception, starting with a $150K ticket after 6 weeks.
Condense 6 months into 6 weeks by building alongside exceptional outliers and mentorship by partners who’ve built and scaled companies themselves.
No hand-holding, no startup bootcamp, a direct path to capital, conviction, and a global network that makes you move.
The next Antler Inception residency in Japan starts on 11 May 2026.
Tokyo
Build with Outliers
Work alongside other exceptional founders from all over the world. Learn how the future of technology is being built by being in the same room with the right mix of talent, drive and ambition.
Unfair Access
Tap into a global network of operators, advisors, and investors - with hands-on support from people who’ve built and scaled before you.
Raise with Confidence
We invest early and double down if you deliver. Beyond our thousands of downstream investor introductions for your next rounds, we continuously invest up to Series C into our winners.
From Day Zero to Global
Start with $150k. Scale with up to $25M. With Antler, you’re plugged into six continents from day zero.
WHO IS ANTLER JAPAN FOR?
Founders or teams who are committed to a startup idea and building with resilience, pace, and global ambitions. The residency is designed to condense 6 months of work into 6 weeks and enable you to move further, faster.
The Inception Residency
In 6 weeks, expect to move ahead of the curve more quickly than your competitors in the market by focusing on what truly matters:
- Build your product and launch with the right strategy
- Secure early users while rapidly testing acquisition channels
- Develop your GTM strategy with global ambition in mind
- Craft your story and fine-tune your pitch for fundraising
No classrooms, no hand-holding. Achieve all this by working 1-1 with our experienced partners who have successfully built and scaled businesses, join keynote sessions with world-class speakers and founders, along with access to our global network of advisors and operators.
To give you a competitive edge, we provide $4M in technical perks, including GPU credits and AI tools, enabling you to build, scale, and expand faster. Start utilizing these benefits from the day you are accepted to Antler, with even more unlocked once you become a portfolio company.
Get our Inception Residency info pack to learn more:
Our Investment Terms
We invest $150,000 for 10% of your company, plus an additional equity amount that will be fixed when you raise your next funding round.
You will not have to pay any fee for participating in the residency. After 6-weeks, you will receive the full investment amount following this investment structure:
- $100,000 for 10% equity after the six-week residency
- $50,000 via an uncapped SAFE with a Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause
When raising your next institutional round, Antler commits 50% of the amount raised, up to $250K, at the latest valuation. As you scale, we will also provide follow-on funding up to $25M through Antler Elevate, our global growth fund.
*An uncapped SAFE with MFN means that our SAFE investment does not have a valuation cap. Instead, we receive the same terms as the most favorable investor in your next priced round, ensuring you get flexibility on valuation in future funding rounds and the best possible deal while securing early capital.
The Application Process
Apply now to join the next Antler Japan residency starting on 11 May 2026. Once you submit your application through our portal, our team will reach out for an in-depth conversation to understand your team, your ambition, and your potential to build a VC-backable business. The process is simple and straight-forward, with a clear answer within 2 to 3 weeks, so you can move forward without waiting in uncertainty.
Fewer than 5 percent of applicants are selected. Our 6 week residency compresses months of progress into weeks, helping founders build with pace, resilience, and global ambition. You will work alongside experienced operators and investors, unlock your next growth phase, access a global network for practical introductions, and get in front of investors actively seeking bold solutions.
If you want to dive deeper into the process, download the brochure below and start your application today.
“The Antler team's commitment is exceptionally high and continues to grow as the program progresses. Looking ahead, our focus is on leveraging technology to address critical healthcare gaps, expanding our impact globally while maintaining cost-effectiveness and accessibility.”
It was a wonderful experience. I was able to network with wonderful entrepreneurs.
The biggest benefit was that I was given the grand vision of "growing a unicorn company" and "expanding our business globally. We aim to achieve annual sales of 50 billion yen within five years.
“Our experience at the Antler Residency program was highly valuable. We improved significantly as a company, particularly in understanding how to effectively communicate with investors. It was an enriching experience, and we truly appreciated being part of the Antler Cohort.”
“We are grateful to be part of Antler’s cohort, which helped us refine our ideas, build a strong foundation. The mentorship, peer collaboration, and pitch preparation sessions were invaluable. Antler’s support has been transformative, and we are proud to be part of this inspiring community.”
Antler has been more than a VC for us. The team instilled more ambition in us and a true advisor who delivered actionable advice to elevate companies to the next level. With its high standards, Antler team pushes pre-seed founders to aim higher, craft pitches that captivate, and think bigger on achieving 10x or even 100x growth.
“Antler’s program is an excellent choice for pre-seed startups for three key reasons. First, it offers a great opportunity to connect with like-minded co-founders. Second, it provides valuable support in refining our pitches, making them among the best in Japan. Lastly, its rigorous structure helps us shape and solidify our business model effectively.”
We’ve helped put hundreds of founders on a pathway to global success
Fuelled by a passion that goes beyond traditional investing, we exist to increase our founders’ speed and maximise their success rate in solving important problems.
10,000+
Founders supported
1500+
Portfolio companies
2018
Year Antler started
35%
Companies with at least one female+ founder
#1
Most active VC investor globally
24+
Offices globally
FREQUENTLY —ASKED QUESTIONS
The program will primarily be conducted in English, but we warmly welcome both English-speaking and Japanese-speaking Founders.
We invest at inception — the earliest stage in your company's life cycle. After working closely with the founding team for 6 weeks, we back them with conviction through an investment of $150,000 for 10% equity, plus an additional equity amount that will be fixed at your next financing round. The investment is structured as below:
- $100,000 for 10% equity (We do not take any fee for the residency)
- $50,000 via an uncapped SAFE with a Most Favoured Nation clause — see below
- Up to $250,000 committed matching capital at 50% of funding raised from other institutional investors (ARC)
That means you receive up to $400,000 at inception.
What’s MFN?
MFN (Most Favoured Nation) means your convertible note converts into equity at the best terms offered to any investor in your next round. It protects you from worse terms later, ensuring you always benefit from the most favourable valuation.
Longer term, our growth fund, Antler Elevate, can invest up to $25M at Series A and beyond.
Yes. Teams must already have an idea and be actively working on it. You don’t need a complete or polished product, but you should be able to clearly explain:
- The problem you are committed to solving
- Who the ideal customer is
- What you have tested so far
- What insights you’ve gathered
- What you are planning to test next
Teams that are already in motion get the most value out of the residency.
While founders will have to pay for their own travel and living expenses during the residency in Tokyo, Japan, founders don't have to pay any fee to participate in the residency. Not up-front, not after investment. The full $150,000 investment is for your team to deploy, build and scale after the residency concludes.
Yes, the residency requires on-site and full-time commitment. Think of it as the first steps in committing full-time to your start-up. The more time you spend at the office, the more opportunities you’ll have to receive feedback and build your network, giving you significant advantages in rapidly testing and refining your hypotheses.
Antler does not sponsor visas, but we can introduce you to the third-party agency that provides visa application support (paid service).
Apply now for Antler in Japan
Join us as we bring together top talent from around the world in Tokyo’s vibrant tech hub to build something extraordinary.
The Antler Japan team
As Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia, Jussi works with a global team dedicated to building the most defining technology companies of tomorrow. Jussi leads Antler’s investments in the APAC region and supports founders in building and scaling their businesses, especially with growth and fundraising. He has over a decade of experience across different industries at Nokia, McKinsey, Deloitte and Morgan Stanley.
EXPAND BIO
Hiro brings a unique mix of entrepreneurial and investing experience to the Antler team.
He co-founded WALLEX, a B2B FX and cross-border payments platform, and grew it into a regional fintech player before its acquisition by M-DAQ in 2022.
Before that, he spent several years in venture capital with Strive VC (formerly GREE) and Yello Mobile, after starting out as a software engineer at Macquarie Group. Along the way, he backed one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce companies, Bukalapak, at the Series A stage before it became a unicorn and went public.
Fluent in English, Japanese, and Indonesian, Hiro has often acted as a bridge between Japan and Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystems.
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Florian Geier is a Senior Director at Antler Japan, where he works closely with founders to build and scale innovative startups beginning their journey to global greatness in Japan. He brings extensive experience from his roles at the US-Japan Unicorn Playco, where he led Partnerships and Operations, and at Fujifilm’s Innovation and Strategy Planning division, where he led global collaborations with startups and VCs. His strategic investments have led to significant value add for both corporates and startups, including one early-stage startup achieving an IPO with a valuation over $1 billion due to its collaboration with Fujifilm. Florian originally came to Japan as a physics PhD student and has since developed a deep, multi-faceted understanding of both the startup and corporate ecosystem, which he now applies to support new entrepreneurs in Japan and globally.
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Jordan Fisher is Venture Partner at Antler Japan, supporting ambitious founders to build the future. He is also Co-Founder and Chairman of Zehitomo, Japan’s marketplace for local services. From home renovations to karaoke coaches, Zehitomo provides a platform to match with 600+ types of service professionals. Prior to founding Zehitomo, Jordan was Vice President at J.P.Morgan in Tokyo, working in Fixed Income Technology and Equities Sales Trading. Born and raised in New York, Jordan holds a B.S. Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Outside of Zehitomo, Jordan is an active mentor to several startups. He is also a loving husband, and a father to two young daughters.
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