Launch your startup and get funded in 11 weeks with Antler Korea
Antler is a global early-stage VC that backs ambitious founders from Day Zero. Through our founder residency, we invest $260K USD (350M KRW) per team, supporting founders from idea generation and team building to business validation and global scaling over six months.
Seoul
Find your co-founder
We support co-founder matching, idea validation and business building.
Receive dedicated coaching
We provide coaching and access to a network of founders and experts.
Kickstart your VC funding
We invest Pre-Seed and provide follow-on funding up to Series C.
Partner with a global leader
We are a global partner for future expansion with 30 locations worldwide.
How Antler works
Antler Korea runs a comprehensive, 6-month residency twice a year. The program starts with a 11-week residency to help founders form teams and refine their ideas. Teams that secure investment move on to a business acceleration phase, while existing teams with co-founders and revenue can apply for a fast-track to the investment review.
The Scouting Process
Applications for the Antler residency are accepted year-round, with the program running twice a year. All applicants must apply individually through our website.
Application Process
- Application
- Written Interview
- Screening Interview
- 2+ Partner Interviews
- Reference Check
You'll be notified of the results for each stage via email or text within 7 business days. We do not provide feedback on application results. For specific inquiries regarding the Korea application, please contact us at korea@antler.co.
For Teams
- Early-Stage Teams: If you have a co-founder but haven't yet achieved significant business traction, each co-founder must apply as an 'individual applicant'.
- Fast-Track: Teams with co-founders (each holding a minimum of 10% equity) and proven business traction can be considered for our Fast-track option, which offers a direct path to an investment review. In this case, one person from the team must apply as a 'team applicant'.
If a team does not have a co-founder or has not yet achieved sufficient business traction, your application may be converted into an invitation to participate in the residency rather than a direct investment review.
The Residency
Antler Korea runs a comprehensive, 6-month residency twice a year. It’s designed to help founders build companies, secure Pre-Seed funding, and accelerate business growth.
Overview
- Phase 1: The 11-Week Residency: Selected individuals and teams come together for 11 weeks to build out their business ideas and form a founding team. This phase is designed to lay a solid foundation for your venture.
- Investment Committee: Throughout the residency, teams pitch to Antler's Investment Committee for a chance to secure Pre-Seed funding. These investment reviews happen in Weeks 4, 7, and 11.
- Phase 2: Business AccelerationTeams that receive funding move into an intensive acceleration phase, where they get dedicated support and mentorship to scale their business.
- Fast-Track: Teams that already have co-founders and a revenue-generating business can skip Phase 1 and apply directly for the fast-track option, which gives them a direct path to an investment review.
The Investment
Antler Korea invests up to $260K USD (350M KRW) per team.
At the pre-seed stage, we invest about $110K (150M KRW). When your company secures follow-on funding from local or global VCs, we guarantee an additional follow-on investment of approximately $150K–$370K (200M–500M KRW).
Beyond capital, our founders gain access to Antler’s global network, tailored coaching, and extensive resources to accelerate their growth.
Dan Chongjun Park
CEO
Rovers
Jeonghoon Sim
CEO
Fractal Technology
Junghwan Yoo
COO
Refeed
"I truly believe Antler is the natural choice for anyone building a global business. With three partners constantly challenging and guiding you — from problem definition to solution validation — the journey became an invaluable training ground. That’s how we built Rovers, a seed IP platform now at Pre-A with ₩2.7B raised."
"Over the past six months, I’ve felt that Antler Korea is like a ‘Sherpa,’ guiding us through the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. That’s how we built Fractal Technology, the M&A platform behind Cookie Deal, which has already secured ₩1.5B in funding including TIPS."
"I’ve learned so much. If I compare myself from last year to now, I believe I’ve grown in many ways. So I thought of a word that could sum up everything I’ve learned—‘humility.’ 🙏 Not just as a form of politeness, but as the opposite of excessive confidence or arrogance. With this mindset, we built ReFeed, a waste cooking oil data solution digitalizing the entire value chain. We’ve secured ₩2.5B in funding up to Pre-A and are now expanding globally into Vietnam, Europe, and the U.S."
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.
200+
Teams generated by the Residency
50+
Portfolios invested in
80%
External capital success rate
$300k
Average investment by Antler Korea
8,000
Founders applied within 2 years
30%
Entered international markets
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FREQUENTLY —ASKED QUESTIONS
The Antler residency is an intensive 6-month journey designed to help you build and scale a company. It begins with a 11-week period (Phase 1) focused on team formation, idea validation, and business model refinement.
Throughout Phase 1, you will receive a monthly stipend of approximately $2.2K (3M KRW) for 3 months. After 10 weeks, teams participate in the Investment Committee (IC) for a review, and around 30-50% are selected for investment.
Teams that receive funding proceed to Phase II, where they concentrate on product development, business validation, and preparing for Investor Day.
The Antler Korea residency is open to ambitious, self-driven individuals who have a clear vision for building a scalable business. We also welcome applications from existing teams, though each co-founder must apply individually. We encourage all founders to be open to collaborating with other talented individuals in the residency, as this often leads to the strongest partnerships.
Yes, full-time participation (9AM–6PM, weekdays) is a requirement for the Antler residency. Building a company from scratch, especially during the team formation stage, demands 100% dedication. It's an intensive process that can't be balanced with a full-time job or studies.
Yes. There are no restrictions on applying for multiple cohorts. However, when you re-apply, Antler expects to see tangible progress as a founder since your last application, whether in your ambition or execution.
At the Pre-Seed stage, we invest up to $110K (150M KRW). This investment is provided after you successfully complete our 11-week residency and an Investment Committee review. Our terms are non-negotiable and are the same for all teams.
We also offer a follow-on commitment of $150K–$370K (200M–500M KRW) upon securing external VC investment. Beyond capital, our portfolio companies gain access to Antler’s global VC network and extensive resources, including over $4M (5.3B KRW) worth of perks from partners like Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
Founders don't have to pay a direct fee to join the residency. The fees, which cover the residency's operational costs, are paid by the Antler Korea Fund.
For teams that receive investment, Antler provides an additional capital on top of the pre-seed funding to cover this cost. No fees are charged for teams that don't receive an investment.
In all cases, founders will never bear any direct cost for participating in the residency.
The Fast-Track provides an immediate path to investment for early-stage startups that already have traction. To be eligible, teams must have at least one co-founder with a 10% or greater equity share and demonstrate market validation through existing revenue or traction.
Antler Korea provides up to $260K USD (350M KRW) per team. Selected teams receive about $110K (150M KRW) in pre-seed funding, with a follow-on commitment of about $150K–$370K (200M–500M KRW). Beyond capital, teams gain access to Antler’s global VC network and extensive resources, including over $4M (5.3B KRW) worth of perks from partners like Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
No, an idea or team is not required to apply. Antler Korea welcomes both solo founders and existing teams. Many founders join individually and meet their co-founders during the program. Founders with traction or an existing co-founder may also be considered for the Fast-Track to investment.
Antler Korea prefers ambitious founders with grit to execute, curiosity to think from first principles, and a clear vision for building scalable businesses. A sharp strength in one area — a spike in technical, commercial, or domain expertise — is highly valued, especially when combined with the ability to act as a generator who can create and explore multiple ideas. Ultimately, founders who can turn bold ideas into real impact are supported.
Apply now for Antler in Korea
By founders for founders, our team is made up of entrepreneurs and early-stage experts.
The Antler Korea team
Jiho built his career working with South Korean tech giant SK Planet and ecommerce unicorn Coupang as lead product manager. Jiho is also well connected to Silicon Valley becoming the first Korean to be accepted into the 500 Startups accelerator program in 2010 and went on to co-found Soomgo, a Y-Combinator portfolio company(#153 of top YC portfolio companies) recently valued at over $200m. Jiho’s most recent venture was blockchain startup BxB which was acquired by the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange; Binance in 2020.
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Gabriel was Head of Corporate Venture Capital at GS Retail, the retail subsidiary of Korean conglomerate GS Group. He has led many notable investments, including Moloco, Inc., currently valued at over USD $1.5 billion. He started his career as a consultant at Accenture Strategy, founded a WiseBros&Company, a B2B SaaS company to help universities restructure, worked at Rakuten CEO's Innovation Office helping the Japanese company expand into global markets, and led Bravestone Venture Partners where he made notable investments including seed investment in ImpriMed in the U.S.
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JaeHee co-leads Antler Korea with Jiho and Gabriel. Prior to Antler, JaeHee was in 500 Global Korea Fund/Ecosystems and worked at early stage startups where she led marketing and business development. Prior to her startup experiences, she was in Cheil Worldwide, Naver, and Booz Allen Hamilton, where her work was focused on strategy and business development. With her multicultural background, she has a mission to help startups go global.
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Roy previously worked at Accelerator, Corporate VC and startups. He started his career as a founding member of Chilling Kitchen, a foodtruck platform that combines content. Roy also worked at Vingle, an interest-based community platform. He served both as an investment manager and a director of co-working space, a new business area at Corporate VC after working as a Accelerator. Roy was a columnist for Korea Tourism Organisation and speaker at TEDx
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Min Joo (Amy) has previously worked as Product Manager at Fastcampus, where she was responsible for creating online education contents for adults and overseeing the product launch. Amy has also worked as consultant at Deloitte, where she participated in engagements such as internal control and internal audit.
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Heechan worked as a network designer at Coupang, focusing on Logistics Data Analysis and Operations Excellence. He previously worked at a family business, an Asia-wide wholesale business and also served as a translator at various joint operations and occasions in ROK ARMY LOGCMD.
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Juyeop has experience founding startups in Spain and Germany. As a co-founder of Interport, he has operated B2G collaboration services in the energy sector, achieving multiple successful cross-border R&D partnerships and PR initiatives. Additionally, he served as the Korean student representative to the OECD Education Committee.
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Doori Jung is the Finance Manager at Antler Korea. She is responsible for fund and corporate finance and compliance. Previously, she was based in Amsterdam as an Accounting & Reporting Specialist at Eni International B.V. and held finance roles at Tax2Do and Patagonia Europe, where she handled financial statement preparation, month-end closing, and tax reporting. Doori brings extensive experience in IFRS-based finance and accounting from her time in the Netherlands.
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Sujin Lee is a Portfolio Manager at Antler Korea, responsible for managing government grant programs and supporting the growth and operations of portfolio companies. Previously, she oversaw startup commercialization support and grant operations at an early-stage VC and a university-industry cooperation group. Leveraging her background in Industrial Design, Sujin also has prior experience in proposal and design planning from roles at a startup, an exhibition planning firm, and an import fabric company.
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Hyewon Song is a Program Manager at Antler Korea, overseeing program efficiency, founder scouting, and marketing. She has a unique path to Antler, having first joined as a founder in its inaugural Korea cohort. Previously, Hyewon was a medical social worker for over five years at Severance and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, where she specialized in clinical counseling and managed large-scale CSR programs with partners like the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation, Shinhan Card, and KT. She holds an MSW from Yonsei University.
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Soyeon Kim is a PD on Antler's marketing team, handling brand content production, event photography, and YouTube channel management. She previously worked at a production company, executing diverse projects including corporate ads, motion graphics, and large-scale brand campaigns.
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