Early-stage venture firm Antler launches Canadian office

Singapore early-stage venture capital firm Antler is launching an office in Toronto. Naman Budhdeo, who is joining Antler Canada as a partner, will lead the office. Antler Canada will invest in at least 100 companies over four years, with the first Canadian cohort to launch in early 2022.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE Release: TORONTO, Canada

Global early-stage VC, Antler has today announced that it is launching in Canada. The firm is already present in most major startup ecosystems across six continents and will launch in Canada to enable more entrepreneurs to build startups through their investment, platform, support and global reach. The local operation will launch in Toronto, led by Naman Budhdeo — the founder of one of Canada’s largest online travel agencies, FlightNetwork.com — who will join Antler as partner.

Founded in Singapore, Antler has a global presence in 14 locations around the world and has invested in over 300 startups, making it one of the world’s largest early-stage investment platforms. Antler is democratizing entrepreneurship and works with exceptional founders regardless of background or geography. Over 40% of Antler’s portfolio has at least one female co-founder and their founders represent over 70 nationalities. Antler plans to invest in 100 companies in the first four years of Antler Canada.

Magnus Grimeland, Founder and CEO of Antler, who sits on the Board of Waterloo University said, “Canada is a world leader in AI and Fintech amongst other areas. I happen to sit on the International Advisory Board of Waterloo University, and know that Toronto is one of the cities that creates the most tech jobs in North America and some of the world’s most exceptional entrepreneurs. This makes it a great ecosystem in which to locate our Canadian headquarters. With Antler, we hope to support the next generation of Founders to build the giants of the future.”

Naman Budhdeo, Partner of Antler Canada said, “I look forward to launching Antler in Canada, applying its unique model to find the best founders and providing them the opportunities to succeed not only in Canada but globally. Antler has a particular focus on finding underserved founders, many of whom are immigrants like myself, and Canada is a very strong proponent of immigration and multiculturalism. This expansion poses a fantastic opportunity to work with the incredible Antler team around the world, to achieve our common goals.”

Naman has founded multiple businesses in Travel technology, including Flight Network and TripStack. FlightNetwork.com’s is one of Canada’s largest online travel agencies, with a team of over 600 people in seven offices, with over $1B in sales a year. It was named as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by PROFIT Magazine six years in a row, from 2009 to 2015. Both TripStack and FlightNetwork were acquired in August 2019 by Swedish based Etraveli (owned by CVC Capital Equity Partners).

Naman is passionate about finding underserved founders and helping them to invest in companies in Canada that improve people’s lives in impactful ways. Naman has been a member of global leadership community, YPO for nine years; and was a finalist for Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada in 2009 and 2010. Naman was honoured to be one of Canada’s top leaders in the Top 40 under 40, a national program that uniquely celebrates the achievements of 40 Canadians in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, who have reached a significant level of success before the age of 40.

The inaugural Canada cohort will kick off in Toronto in early 2022 and will be running over a six-month period in two phases. The first phase is about building the right team, with co-founders who have complementary skills. During this period, the Antler team pulls on resources and expertise from across the world to enable founders to validate their business ideas, prove product-market fit and build strong teams. After the first phase of ten weeks, Antler invests in the strongest teams, who go on to build and scale their startup.

About Antler
Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. The firm has offices globally across most major entrepreneurial hubs, including in London, Berlin, Stockholm, New York, Singapore and Sydney.
Founded in Singapore in 2017, Antler is on a mission to fundamentally improve the world by enabling and investing in the world’s most exceptional people, by building complementary co-founder teams, supporting the teams with deep business model validation and providing a global platform for scaling. To date, Antler has invested in over 300 companies globally across 30 different industries. Of these companies, 40% have at least one female co-founder, and the founders represent 70 nationalities. Learn more at antler.co.