Venture Capital Company Antlers Australia has thrown the gauntlet on the value of early-stage startups, increasing its investment levels and post-money valuations for companies it backs.

Under new terms announced today, Antler will increase its initial investment by $35,000 to A$225,000 for the same 12% equity stake. The new deal boosts the after-cash valuation of an Antler-backed startup by nearly 20% to $1.875 million.

The move makes the VC’s terms one of the most competitive in Australia for early-stage founders as the firm moves away from the accelerator program it launched in Sydney in 2019 and takes on new partners, Kath Rogers And James McClureto run local operations.

Antler’s investment is nearly double the $120,000 from pioneering accelerator Startmate for an 8.5% stake in startups at a valuation of $1.5 million, which was set in 2021.

The pair joins Bede Moore, Antler’s APAC managing partner, and Anthony Millet, a global capital partner who serves on Antler Australia’s Investment Advisory Committee.

McClure is a seasoned C-suite exec and angel investor with more than 15 years of experience at global technology giants, including Google, Airbnb and SeatGeek.

Antler Australia partner James McClure

Rogers is a veteran investor and fintech founder whose resume includes AirTree Ventures, Anchorage Capital Partners and cleantech fund Masdar Capital, and he is aware that Antler needs to stay at the forefront of the early stage investment package

“Market conditions have evolved since our launch and our updated terms consolidate Antler’s leadership position in the early stage VC segment,” she said.

“We are obsessed with attracting the best founders and helping them succeed. The increased investment terms provide founders with crucial additional seed capital and longer runways, while the higher valuation is a sign of the continued confidence and optimism we have in our founders.”

Antler occupies a rare space in Australian VC as a Day Zero investor, partnering with and investing in exceptional founders at the earliest stage, often pre-Idea, pre-Team or pre-Seed.

In addition to Antler Australia’s first check, the venture capital fund offers follow-on investments for portfolio companies from pre-launch to Series A. And now, with global backing from Antler Elevate, the $300 million global fund that launched in 2021, it also has the opportunity to invest in portfolio companies up to Series C.

As Antler Australia nears the end of deployment of its first $46 million oversubscribed fund, James McClure said all new investment will be made from the next fund, which has been raised with a $60 million target

“Once an emerging startup ecosystem, the Australian market has matured rapidly, with the most ambitious founders and globally sought-after technology companies,” he said.

“We believe exceptional founders build exceptional companies, our new terms will provide the ambitious entrepreneurs we work with with the opportunity to build the next generation of leading technology companies,” said James McClure, Partner at Antler Australia.

Launched in Singapore in 2017, Antler now has a total portfolio value of over US$3 billion, operating in 26 locations across 700 companies. It also has a community of over 5,000 startup startup founders.

Since launching in Australia in 2019, Antler has invested in more than 100 early stage companies, 15 of which are now worth more than $10 million, and has partnered with more than 500 founders from its Sydney and Melbourne offices.

The initial fund has made its first return to Limited Partners following RapidPay’s acquisition of portfolio startup QuickaPay in December 2021.

Applications to join Antler Australia are open continuously. Details are here.

READ NOW: Idea to Unicorn: Antler’s Adele Moynihan explains how to build a purposeful startup