FirstPrinciples VC Founder Nitin Sharma Joins Antler As Partner And Co-lead For India Antler aims to deploy $100 million in Indian startups in the next four years

Early-stage venture capital (VC) platform Antler announced on Wednesday that it welcomes Nitin Sharma as its partner and co-lead for all India efforts.

To help accelerate innovation and value creation in the Indian tech ecosystem, the company aims to invest over $100 million in India across funds in the next four years. These funds will support founders from the idea stage and all the way to Series A and Series B. Sharma has been said to co-lead with Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder, Urban Ladder.

"While opportunities in India are boundless, what has also become clear from my extensive work with founders is that a few key gaps persist especially at the seed and pre-seed stage: a truly global partner that can bring institutional resources and significant follow-on commitment even at the idea stage. This is exactly why Antler can fill the gaps and have a transformative impact," Nitin Sharma, partner, and co-lead, Antler India.

Founded in Singapore in 2017, the establishment maintains that it 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.

Nitin Sharma brings over a decade of experience in global venture capital, having invested in more than 50 tech startups in multiple geographies. Most recently, he was the founder of a thesis-driven syndicate and portfolio company of over 35 startups FirstPrinciples VC.

"For the last several months, Nitin and I enjoyed working closely together to conceptualize a unique Antler program for new founders, which is getting a tremendous response from the market already. Nitin's hands-on approach and international experience is immediately recognised by numerous founders in the market, and with our combination of an ex-founder and an investor working in tandem, we will help founders in India with a very rich set of perspectives. I couldn't think of a stronger partner as we look forward to co-building an impactful institution with Antler India," stated Rajiv Srivatsa, co-lead, Antler India.

The firm has offices globally across most major entrepreneurial hubs, including in London, Berlin, Bangalore, Stockholm, New York, Singapore, and Sydney.

"India is a priority market in Antler's objective to create a world-changing impact. India is a hotbed of innovation and we are thrilled to double-down on the market with this leadership team. Nitin is a unique investor who has invested not just across multiple stages and economic cycles but also ventured early in exciting areas like blockchain and digital assets. We look forward to his continuing impact in enabling exceptional founders from India's digital economy, and also with new initiatives at the global level," added Magnus Grimeland, founder and chief executive officer, Antler.

To date, Antler has invested in and helped build over 250 companies, said the statement.