We have significantly expanded our investment footprint in India, announcing investments in 30 startups in 2024, taking the total India portfolio to 80. These investments were made through Antler’s maiden India fund of $75 million.
The investments span sectors including AI, ConsumerTech, FinTech, DeepTech, Health and Climate. The portfolio companies have been selected from over 25,000 founders who engaged with Antler's platform in 2024.
"We're seeing exceptional founding teams emerge from India's talent pool, many of whom have deep expertise in AI, and emerging technologies," said Rajiv Srivatsa, Partner at Antler India. "What's particularly exciting is that these founders are not just building for India, but are leveraging India's talent to solve global problems. Our investment pace reflects both the quality of the founders we're meeting and our conviction that the next wave of global technology companies will emerge from India. We've invested in 30 companies this year, many of which were born in our Residency program, where founders had the opportunity to validate their ideas, build strong teams, and get early customer traction before raising their first check.”
"Beyond capital, we're fundamentally reshaping how early-stage companies are built in India," added Nitin Sharma, Partner at Antler India. "We doubled our investment pace in 2024. Through our Residency program, we're actively involved in the company-building process from Day Zero - from team formation and idea validation to early customer development. So far, over 100 companies have been formed at Antler Residencies in India. We are investing with high selectivity (1 in 1000), so when we invest, we have a deep conviction in both the team and the opportunity because we've worked alongside them through these crucial early stages. This hands-on approach is reflected in the strong fundamentals we're seeing across our portfolio."
Antler's portfolio from 2024 includes:
Bizup: A wholesale marketplace transforming fashion retail. Founded by Suparn Goel and Anshul Singhal.
Cautio: Making India safer by enabling every fleet operator or vehicle owner with AI-powered dashcams. Founded by Ankit Acharya and Pranjal Nadhani who bring mobility and tech experience from Bounce, Namma Yatri, Dream11, and Urban Company.
Collecto: Solving cash flow and payment collection challenges for SMBs. Founded by Siddharth Agarwal.
Freshcon: Simplifying home cooking with ready-to-cook foods starting with staples, founded by ex-HUL and Marico executives Anupam Bokey & Anand Dhodapkar.
HireBound: An intelligent AI copilot with automated workflows and cutting-edge resume intelligence. Founded by Sharad Vij and Kumar Vikramaditya, tech leaders from LinkedIn and Naukri.
Inamo: Revolutionizing quick commerce through efficiently managed dark stores. Founded by Sumit Anand and Rupesh Thakare.
Infer.so: Developing AI voice bots that automate human-like phone conversations for insurance and lending industries. Founded by Urvin Soneta and Vaibhav Saxena.
Interface Labs: A workforce automation studio enabling E-commerce brands to deploy digital workers with human-like reasoning. Founded by BITS Pilani graduates Rebhav Bharadwaj and Aditya Thakur.
Insurance Padosi: Reimagining insurance through customer-centric education and personalized recommendations. Founded by Vaibhav Kathju, Abhay Singh, and Gaurav Gupta, seasoned financial services experts.
Keeper: Innovating personal loan products using paid leaves as digital assets for salaried employees. Founded by Shubhranshu Kumar and Sushant Mehta.
Kubo Care: Empowering global seniors to age independently with innovative, non-invasive health monitoring solutions. Founded by Ayush Agarwal (Seniority.in) and Anurag Ram Chandran, ex-Dalberg consultant.
Maximize Money: A platform empowering users to maximize savings on every online transaction. Founded by Shiva Mehta, Siddhant Jaini, and Kumar Kartikaya.
Meine Electric: Pioneering renewable energy transformation through innovative aluminium-air fuel cell technology. Founded by Priyansh Mohan and Stuti Kakkar.
Milo Drive: India's first specialized DeepTech-powered EV fleet service. Founded by ex-Blusmart executives Monil Khatri and Vishal Jewrajka.
Namma Yatri: India's first open mobility platform revolutionizing driver economics through an innovative subscription-based model. Co-founded by Shan M S and Magizhan Selvan, mobility tech veterans from Juspay.
Proof of Skill: A decentralized protocol transforming white-collar job credentialing by validating individual expertise. Founded by Raj Desai, entrepreneur behind SOAL - School of Accelerated Learning.
Storefox.ai: Building intelligence platforms to revolutionize offline retail. Founded by Jivitesh Jadwani and Nithin Saji.
Sustvest: Building India's largest fintech-led distributed solar Independent Power Producer. Founded by Hardik Bhatia and Devansh Shah.
Trade Credit: Innovating supply chain finance solutions for fresh produce retailers. Founded by Ashwin Jain and Shubham Matah.
TradeFace: Creating a hyperlocal marketplace connecting retailers and distributors. Founded by Sebastian Vempeny, Vaibhav Verma, and Shivram Dega.
Tradomate: A cutting-edge AI trading platform empowering next-gen traders with intelligent tools—real-time screeners, advanced backtesting, AI-driven strategy builders, and sophisticated trade monitoring. Founded by Ritvik Dashora (ex-Dezerv investment lead), Yashu Gupta, and Satyam Upadhyay.
Wonder: An interactive audio companion blending playful conversation, adaptive learning, and educational storytelling for children. Founded by Chandramouli K and Venkat Potluri.
This doesn’t include companies still operating in stealth.
The next Residency cohort in India is scheduled to commence in February 2025. Ambitious founders looking to build global companies can apply at https://www.antler.co/location/india
For all press enquiries: press@antler.co
