Singapore-based Antares Ventures has secured more than $50 million in commitments—nearly half of the target—for its debut deeptech venture capital fund Antares Ventures I, according to an announcement.
The fund’s investors include family offices and corporate and strategic investors from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea. Antares said it will continue fundraising while selectively deploying capital.
The firm said it has already deployed about $27 million across nine companies through the fund, investing in businesses spanning energy storage, industrial technology, hydrogen transportation, water treatment and advanced mobility.
Antares typically invests $1 million to $5 million per company, with most tickets in the $2-3 million range. The firm prefers to lead or co-lead rounds and maintains active board involvement.
Its portfolio includes Singapore-based long-duration energy storage developer VFlowTech, UK hybrid intelligent transformer technology developer IONATE, German plasma technology company enaDyne and Indian electric aircraft developer The ePlane Company.
“Asia is investing heavily in infrastructure systems that support economic growth, from renewable energy and data centres to advanced manufacturing and urban transport. But capital alone does not resolve the performance constraints within those systems,” said Michael Gryseels, founder and managing partner of Antares Ventures.
Founded by Gryseels, Louis Murayama and Milena Nikolova, Antares invests in early-stage deeptech companies from seed to Series B across four themes: energy, compute and digital infrastructure, industry and urban and transport infrastructure.
The firm focuses on technologies that address performance constraints in infrastructure systems, including energy networks, data centres and advanced manufacturing.
It also works with portfolio companies on customer development, industrial partnerships, pilot projects, localisation and regional expansion to support commercial adoption.
Antares said its investment approach combines technical assessment with analysis of deployment economics, integration risks and commercial adoption pathways.
The firm is supported by a 20-person investment and operating team across Asia, alongside venture partners and senior advisers.
Unlike most regional VCs, Antares takes an origin-agnostic approach, investing in both Southeast Asian and overseas startups, as long as the latter commit to entering the Asian market within 12 months of investment, Gryseels said in an earlier interview with DealStreetAsia.
Antares first operated as a syndicate, executing deal-by-deal investments through special purpose vehicles (SPVs). Between 2019 and 2023, the firm completed over 25 syndicated deals, testing and refining its thematic focus before launching its first institutional fund last year.
Since then, Antares has built a portfolio of around 20 companies spanning Southeast Asia, South Asia and selected global markets.
About half of these companies are headquartered in Asia, while the rest are international startups expanding into the region through Antares’ network.
