Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore, has invested US$7.4 million into startups across Southeast Asia in the first half of 2025. The funding supports ventures in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.
A significant portion of the investment, totalling US$2.8 million, was channelled into seven AI startups through the newly launched AI Disrupt residency. This four-week, in-person programme is aimed at teams that have developed a minimum viable product (MVP) and are already serving live customers with core AI technology. The initiative reinforces Antler’s position as the world’s most active AI investor, having made 74 AI investments globally in 2024.
Based in Singapore, AI Disrupt is designed to accelerate companies already gaining market traction, helping them scale both commercially and technically. Each selected startup received US$400,000 in funding, alongside over US$650,000 in cloud computing, infrastructure, and tooling credits for AI-focused development.
Selected startups and programme benefits
The seven startups backed under the AI Disrupt programme include Iris, Nugen, IndustrialMind.ai, Lambdai Space, Anamaya AI, AppSecAI, and 5.Y (GLUCOSE). Their innovations range from autonomous workflow automation and specialised AI agents to AI-powered manufacturing optimisation, climate and insurance insights, corporate travel aggregation, application security automation, and personalised customer engagement in complex industries.
According to Winnie Khoo, Partner at Antler, the programme matches the rapid pace of AI product development with targeted investment and support. “AI startups are moving 10x faster than just 2 years ago, and AI Disrupt is purpose-built for founders with market-validated products to move and scale much faster. These AI founders do not wait. Moving aggressively is a moat that founders can gain in the AI age,” she said.
During the residency, participating startups received tailored mentoring on go-to-market strategies, scalability, and rapid expansion, while engaging in deep technical sessions with ecosystem partners.
Navigating a challenging investment climate
Antler’s increased focus on AI comes amid a challenging venture capital environment in Southeast Asia, with seed funding down 68% and overall early-stage investments falling by 53% in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year. This has led to longer fundraising cycles, stricter investor requirements, and fewer follow-on funding opportunities.
Jussi Salovaara, Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia at Antler, highlighted the firm’s selective approach. “The current funding landscape across Southeast Asia in early 2025 demands that founders be sharper than ever in both their approach and execution. We are prepared to match their speed and provide flexible early capital that enables them to accelerate, but we are also more selective. Once a team can demonstrate a compelling use case for their technology and the ambition to scale globally, we will back them with conviction,” he said.
Applications are now open for the next AI Disrupt residency, starting on 21 October 2025 in Singapore. The upcoming programme will continue its focus on enhancing technical capabilities and unlocking go-to-market traction through targeted coaching and investor preparation.
