British Business Bank has made a £25m cornerstone commitment to Antler’s UK Fund II to support ambitious founders and innovators across the UK.
Founded in 2017, Antler is the world’s most active early-stage investor, investing in tech startups from inception.
Antler partners with founders before the launch of their companies, providing them with resources, coaching and funding, while connecting them with a global network to help them grow and scale.
The Antler platform is active in 27 cities globally, with dedicated funds across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
Antler, which has been present in the UK since 2020, has the tagline ‘where founders go further, faster’.
The new UK strategy will be Antler’s largest single-location fund to date and will be led by partners Adam French, Hannah Leach and Jed Rose.
It is British Business Bank’s first commitment to Antler.
The fund will back exceptional founders from inception in the UK, initially committing up to £500k into new UK startups, with the potential to support its strongest performers beyond the fund at growth rounds through its later-stage investment vehicle, Elevate.
The British Business Bank plays a central role in building a healthy venture capital market by backing funds that invest in high-potential UK entrepreneurs and IP.
The bank joins a syndicate of primarily UK LPs, including Lloyds Banking Group, demonstrating growing participation from UK institutional investors in the UK’s innovation economy.
Christine Hockley, managing director and co-head of funds at British Business Bank, said: “The UK consistently produces exceptional founders and world-leading IP, and we need to give entrepreneurs the tools to take the leap and start building the companies of the future. This fund is dedicated to creating UK companies and will help turn more high-potential ideas into scalable businesses.”
Michael Laycock, investment director at British Business Bank, added: “Antler has an established model to support aspiring entrepreneurs from the very start of their journey.
“We are pleased to support Antler to scale and grow their UK activities. This commitment helps increase the availability of both early-stage capital and support for ambitious UK entrepreneurs as they start their founder journey.”
Adam French, partner at Antler, said: “Our new fund is designed to support outlier founders in a new era when speed is everything.
“Most funds wait for traction, we back with conviction from inception and then create the conditions for founders to move faster than they could anywhere else. This Fund is here to back the world-class founder talent in the UK.
“Founders can achieve more and move faster than ever before, thanks to AI. There has never been a better time to become a founder in the UK, and we have created a fund that will help exceptional founders realise their full potential.”
To date, Antler has backed more than 1,500 startups globally, including Airalo, Lovable, Peec.AI, Reebelo, Wrtn and Benjamin.