Coaxial commits up to AUD $30 million to back Australia’s women founders, becoming a cornerstone investor in Antler’s Fund III
SYDNEY | October 9, 2026: Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm, and Coaxial Foundation, the philanthropic vehicle of Nicola Forrest AO, today announced a ~AUD $30 million partnership forged to find, fund and scale Australia’s next generation of women founders.
Coaxial’s commitment makes it a cornerstone investor in Antler Australia’s third fund, which is targeting a minimum of AUD $70 million. The partnership anchors Antler Fund III, which supports both male and female founders, while Momentum powered by Coaxial provides dedicated funding to help female-founded companies thrive from inception through to scale. Coaxial Foundation's investment recognises the impact of the global Antler model, which backs founders from day one and supports them as they scale from pre-seed to Series C.
Of the funding, AUD $20 million will be an ESVCLP investment into Antler’s Fund III, and up to AUD $10 million will fund operating expenses and non-dilutive funding and coinvestments into women founded companies. As part of this, Coaxial will offer direct investments into women founders, working with Antler: At the point of Antler’s initial investment, Coaxial will provide non-dilutive funding of AUD $60k to women founders. At the point of Antler’s follow-on investment, Coaxial will provide additional non-dilutive funding of AUD $60k, along with a pre-committed investment of 15% of the company’s round.
Ms Forrest said the Antler partnership reflects Coaxial's focus on supporting female entrepreneurs at the point they need it most.
“There is no shortage of talented, ambitious women in Australia. The partnership with Antler aims to support female entrepreneurs early in their founder journey when access to capital, networks and support is limited. Antler has a strong history of successfully supporting founders from inception and as they scale, which is exactly the gap Coaxial wants to help close for Australian female founders,” Ms Forrest said.
As part of the partnership, Coaxial and Antler will work together to provide new access and opportunities for Australian women ready to build category-defining companies, with the funding and support of a global venture capital firm.
Antler has a 7-year track record in Australia sourcing, backing and supporting female founders from inception to scale. To date, it has invested a total of AUD $19 million in 66 women founders across 56 women-founded companies, and those founders have raised a total AUD $109 million with a combined post-money valuation of AUD $355m.
Michael Kron, General Partner at Antler, says, “All-women founding teams outperform the rest of our portfolio, at 2.6 times our initial investment compared to 2.1 times for the fund as a whole.
“These results stem from our intensive focus on finding exceptional people and backing them from inception, irrespective of their background. Momentum, powered by Coaxial, allows us to double down on our efforts to find the best women founders in the country and give them the investment, network and global opportunities they need to scale.”
Skye Theodorou, co-founder and CEO of Upcover: “Antler backed me before I had a team and a company, not after I had traction. That is the difference. Momentum means the next founder gets the same shot, and she gets it without having to choose between her idea, her family and her income.”
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES. NO OFFERING OF INTERESTS OF THE FUNDS REFERRED TO ABOVE HAS BEEN OR WILL BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), OR UNDER ANY OTHER U.S. FEDERAL AND STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, PLEDGED, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. INVESTORS, UNLESS THEY ARE REGISTERED, OR EXEMPT FROM, OR NOT SUBJECT TO, REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT.
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Antler is the world’s most active early-stage investor, backing exceptional people at the very start of their journey — and supporting them from inception to scale. Across more than 25 cities worldwide—including New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Bangalore, Singapore, Seoul, and Sydney—the firm helps founders remove the barriers to building by connecting them with world-class peers, validating business models, and providing initial capital. To date, Antler has backed more than 2,000 startups globally, including Airalo, Lovable, Peec.AI, Reebelo, Wrtn, and Benjamin. For founders who go on to build breakout companies, Antler Elevate—the $285M emerging growth fund—invests beyond the early stages, managed through offices in London, Singapore, and New York.
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