Antler, the leading zero-day investor, has announced investments worth more than £1 million in nine British tech startups. Eight of the nine startups emerged from Antler’s latest founder residency, highlighting not only how Antler’s model can successfully cultivate innovation, but also how it can help address inequalities in startups. Twenty-four per cent of the participating founders were women, and 27 nationalities were represented.
What all the funded startups have in common, though, their problem-solving approach. Jed Rose, General Partner at Antler said, “what makes the startups we have backed different is that they combine deep expertise with world-class technology that is addressing urgent and pressing industry demand.”
One of the startups is in stealth mode, but the remaining eight include:
- Alphaloops, whose AI can automate investment management operations,
- BankBridge, a startup that helps bridge the due diligence gap between financial institutions,
- Capsa AI, who offer an AI Operating System for Private Equity,
- Falco, whose AI-powered platform empowers financial firms to navigate regulatory changes, and
- frnt, whose platform provides digital workers which optimise retail operations.
TFN spoke to the founders of the remaining startups, intriq, Fleevo, and Robominder, about their startups.
Intriq: Transforming businesses with AI-powered private equity strategies
Intriq is a female-founded startup that uses AI to empower businesses to make decisions based on their data. And proof that relationships are as important as anything else for startups. “We met after many bottles of wine at the pub and ridiculous karaoke nights during our time in Antler’s accelerator programme,” founder Jess Liew confessed. “The inspiration for the startup came about after we knew we were capable of keeping up with each other’s singing antics.”
Liew had become frustrated at how businesses often struggled to navigate their data environment, but she had also seen the gender inequality in private equity. “In my last role in private equity, I was in a team of over 100 men. I found myself sitting in boardrooms with primarily men and wanted to build something that contributes to balancing out gender inequality.”
Co-founder Sam Leighton also saw a need to improve how businesses handled data. “Businesses today have more access to data than ever, yet paradoxically, this abundance often leads to ‘data paralysis,’” Leighton explained. “It’s estimated that over 80% of companies struggle to make sense of the overwhelming flow of information.”
Intriq collects data from a range of sources, providing analysis and offering insights that might otherwise be missed by overwhelmed human analysts. “Our strategy involves focusing specifically on identifying trends, alerts, and opportunities for a comprehensive analysis of each,” Liew told us. “This method allows us to pinpoint potential root causes by comparing data across different products and locations.”
“Our vision with Intriq is to turn what seems like a data deluge into a powerful asset,” Leighton said. “Imagine a future where businesses use Intriq not just for insights but for foresight. Our platform aims to highlight emerging trends and provide early warnings, enabling businesses to proactively adapt their strategies. This isn’t about keeping up; it’s about leading the charge towards informed, data-driven decision-making. We see a future where Intriq is the compass that guides businesses through the digital age, ensuring they’re always ahead, never behind.”
Fleevo: Revolutionising Fleet Management
Fleevo’s founders, Victor Gonzalez, Aidarbek Suleimenov, Yongjia Chen, all shared a background in big tech, working for companies like Meta, Palantir, and Twilio. Meeting at Antler’s residency, they discovered a shared desire to solve the problems faced by underserved industries, and Fleevo, an operating system for commercial fleets, was born.
“Companies that operate commercial fleets are under tremendous pressure to maintain their operational margins and operate more sustainably,” explains Gonzalez, Fleevo’s CEO. “With the Fleevo Copilot, commercial fleet managers can ask anything about their fleet and get answers in seconds. This translates to increased productivity and profitability for fleet operators.”
Like other AI-solutions in Antler’s portfolio, Fleevo’s strength is in taking data from a range of sources to identify patterns and trends on which humans can take action, combining data from the vehicles itself, as well as things like fuel-card accounts.
“Today, fleet connectivity has been commoditised by aftermarket and OEM solutions,” explains Suleimenov. “Fleet managers start gaining actionable insights on day one. Fleevo is a systems-agnostic platform. It interoperates with existing telematics and sensors, fuel and charge card systems, TMS, spreadsheets and more. Through advanced AI/ML technology, it harnesses the data to generate actionable insights that empower fleets to increase uptime, reduce variable costs and operate more sustainably.”
The result will be a ripple effect, in which better fleet management will benefit everyone, says Gonzalez. “As Fleevo streamlines fleet operations and minimises disruptions, businesses relying on commercial fleets can deliver goods and services more reliably and efficiently to consumers. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also supports economic growth and development.”
Robominder: Enhancing Industrial Robotics with Computer Vision
Robominder has been likened to a ‘nanny-cam’ for robots, using computer vision to monitor robots, identifying anomalies and enabling prompt action to maintain and enhance productivity.
The three co-founders Kiki Simonsen, Agajan Torayev, Bugra Ozkan all meet the Antler residency, where they realised how well their skills meshed: Torayev had worked in software development for industrial robots, Ozkan had experience in computer vision, and Simonsen had a background in analytics.
“We explored various ideas,” says CEO Torayev, “but it ultimately led us to focus on a sector where we could leverage our collective expertise—industrial robotics and computer vision-based analytics.”
Perhaps surprisingly, their approach is not to integrate AI directly into robots. “Most industrial robots come equipped with a range of analytics and diagnostic tools. However, our Robominder product is designed to enhance and extend these capabilities,” said Torayev. The approach means that Robominder is easy to install and brand-agnostic. “Robominder achieves a higher level of interoperability compared to existing solutions, offering a more comprehensive and adaptable monitoring system.”
And, although a product aimed at robots, Robominder looks after humans too. “Robominder enhances safety by detecting anomalies, improves efficiency by allowing humans to focus on complex tasks, ensures consistent quality, and promotes workforce development by fostering technological skills,” says Torayev. “This not only boosts productivity but also enhances the working conditions for employees across various parts of the supply chain, benefiting the broader economy and improving competitiveness in the global market.”
Fuelling the world’s start-ups
Antler currently boasts that their programmes have brought more than 1,000 start-ups into existence, and they aim to have backed more than 6,000 by 2030. Based on their latest set of investments, it’s clear what most will have in common, says Antler’s Rose, “founders are recognising that AI will define all of our futures, and they are using emerging technologies to solve major problems in some of the world’s biggest industries. We are just scratching the surface of what AI can achieve, and founders are coming to us with new applications and use cases every day.”
