#AntlerJapan Inception 6 applications are now open!
We've evolved Inception into a 6-week intensive sprint for founders ready to build world-changing companies. We'll also host a focused 4-week workshop for solo founders to quickly form a team and a business concept ready for execution.
We're looking for the committed—those of you who are ready to go further, faster.
👉Apply here:
https://t.co/9CL0xN070D
#AntlerJapan #Startups #Founders #JPN6
2025 was a defining year for Antler Japan 🇯🇵
- 4th + 5th cohort complete,150+ founders from 31+ nationalities
- Portfolio tripled to 20+
Spring 2026: #DemoDay & #AntlerInception program.
Building in 2026? Apply now: 🔗https://t.co/G2CPayGKX2
#AntlerJapan#Startups
On the final Friday of Week 1 in the Fall 2025 Residency!
We wrapped up a week full of first encounters, Master Classes, team challenges, sessions led by our leadership team, office hours, and sprint sessions. 10 weeks may sound long, but they will fly by, our founders are set to sharpen and validate their scalable ideas, moving toward Track Out, Pre-IC, and the IC.
Having been selected into Antler, they are already outliers. It takes relentless drive, high aspiration, and the courage to leave stability behind to build from Day Zero. Here, they don’t just start companies, they build momentum: problem discovery, early traction, and their first check, with a clear path from pre-seed to scale.
Surrounded by exceptional peers and guided by partners who have been founders themselves, they have the chance to go further, faster. This cohort represents 84 entrepreneurs from 31 nationalities—driven, ambitious, and ready to tackle the world’s toughest problems, starting in Japan.
Starting next Friday, we’ll be hosting a series of special events where you can experience this community first-hand.
Come meet these exceptional founders!
Register here:
https://t.co/ft34r4EfbO
Batch 5 has officially kicked off!
We received close to 1,000 applications from across Japan and around the world. From this incredibly talented pool, 84 exceptional founders were selected to join the program, making this our largest cohort ever!
Representing 31 nationalities and averaging 11 years of professional experience, this diverse group demonstrates how Japan is becoming a global magnet for exceptional talent. Their ventures span a wide range of sectors, tackling major challenges in areas such as HealthTech, FinTech, PropTech, Robotics, DeepTech, Agentic AI, and beyond.
▶︎▶︎ Key stats:
📊45% are business leaders with expertise in strategy, business development, and finance
💻 39% are full stack engineers with deep technical expertise
🤖 13% are domain experts in AI/ML/LLM or DeepTech
🚀54% have startup experience, including serial founders with VC funding and exits
🌸17% are female founders
▶︎▶︎ Founder highlights include:
💪 Repeat founder who exited a management platform for Amazon 3rd-party sellers, scaling to 3,000+ business accounts and managing $1B+ in products
🧭Strategy leader turned CSO at an AI & robotics startup in Tokyo, where he led a ¥1.7B fundraising round
👩🔬Female founder with a PhD in Bioengineering, bringing experience across both pharma and academia, developing next-gen wound care products balancing faster healing with antibacterial protection
🛒 Seasoned product manager who contributed to building the world’s most used smart shopping cart—scaled from 0 to 200 stores, with the parent company IPO’ing at ¥263B
💸 Former CFO at a leading fintech startup, he raised $120M, scaled volume from $3M to $1B, and enabled the launch of a blockchain payments platform
To celebrate the launch of Batch 5, we are hosting a series of exclusive Co-Founder Matching Events. These are designed for entrepreneurs seeking co-founders, and for business professionals, engineers, and domain experts interested in joining Antler Residency.
This is your chance to meet exceptional founders building the next generation of category-defining companies.
Register now:
https://t.co/ft34r4EfbO