, the regional arm of the global venture capital firm, has introduced a new investment structure known as Agreement for Rolling Capital (ARC) to enhance its support for early-stage startups.
This new standard deal applies to all startups participating in the Antler Residency programme in India. With ARC, Antler aims to invest $10 million in 20 new Indian startups over the next six months.
“ARC is a first-of-its-kind venture deal construct designed for the Indian founders to deliver flexibility, more capital for execution, and a solid support platform to get to the next stage faster. We have seen a strong correlation between increased and faster early-stage capital and the path to Series A,” said Nitin Sharma, Partner at Antler in India.
“The fundamental philosophy behind ARC was to design an instrument that enables exceptional founders to raise more capital upfront, allowing them to make rapid progress toward PMF while managing dilution and encouraging effective use of capital,” he added.
Through the ARC structure, the pre-seed investor plans to invest up to $500,000 (Rs 4 crore) in idea-stage startups on a rolling basis. The initial investment is a $250,000 (Rs 2 crore) pre-seed cheque, serving as the team’s first institutional capital, often provided purely at the concept stage without the need for a product or traction.
Shortly following the initial investment, Antler will pledge up to an additional $250,000 over the next nine months, matching 50% of the capital raised by the startup from accredited external investors.
“We work closely with our portfolio companies to help them scale more effectively and rapidly, and ARC is one of the key initiatives supporting this goal. Antler Forward is a dedicated 12-week boot camp to drive post-investment execution intensity. Portfolio companies participate in Antler Forward to access industry-best advisors, company-specific workshops, and office hours with experts—all designed to accelerate toward early PMF,” said Rajiv Srivatsa, Partner at Antler in India.
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“Antler Spotlight offers a platform for founders to showcase their companies and connect with hundreds of potential top-tier investors. With constructs like ARC, Forward, and Spotlight, we are supporting exceptional Indian founders with not just capital but also a platform that increases the odds of success from day zero,” Srivatsa added.
ARC aims to help startups progress from mere concepts to securing over $1 million in funding within 9-12 months, while maintaining a founder-friendly approach to dilution. During this time, founders will benefit from extensive support through Antler’s portfolio support platform to achieve their growth targets.
Antler’s ARC can be utilised within nine months of the term sheet signing for any external capital raised, excluding friends and family or down-rounds. Typically, founders can secure an additional $750,000-$500,000 from external investors and $250,000 from Antler via ARC at the latest valuation—totalling $1 million in the first year.
With a $75 million fund, Antler has already backed 65 startups across SaaS, fintech, and consumer tech, as well as in emerging sectors like AI, ONDC, climate, and Web3 infrastructure, among others.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan
