Cherry Ventures

Antler exists to solve a fundamental bottleneck in innovation: the world's most exceptional people often lack the capital, network, and support to build transformative companies from day one. Founded in 2017, Antler has become the world's most active early-stage investor, backing founders from inception to scale across 30 cities globally. The firm has invested in more than 1,800 startups, including notable companies like Airalo, Lovable, Peec.AI, Reebelo, Wrtn, and Benjamin, creating an unparalleled global network of builders. What sets Antler apart is its 'Day Zero' investing approach - partnering with founders before they even have a team or idea, often as their first believer and initial capital source. With typical investments of $500K-$1M plus substantial partner credits, Antler provides structured residency programs, hands-on coaching, and access to a global platform of operators, investors, and domain experts. The firm's $285M emerging growth fund, Antler Elevate, continues support beyond early stages through offices in London, Singapore, and New York. PitchBook ranked Antler as the most active VC globally, and Dealroom recognized it as the most active investor in AI startups.

In 2012, our founders Troy Vosseller and Joe Kirgues started with a realization: Wisconsin had incredible talent but lacked the infrastructure to systematically connect its best and brightest with the mentorship, capital, and networks needed to build transformative companies. They launched gener8tor with a simple but powerful mission - to be the best partner for a community to invest in its best and brightest through mentorship-driven, cohort-based accelerator programs. What began as two 12-week accelerators in Wisconsin has evolved into a comprehensive platform spanning 46 communities across the U.S. and internationally. Today, gener8tor runs investment accelerators, free accelerators, skills programs, and creative accelerators that have supported over 2,100 startups, generating $2.9B+ in follow-on funding and creating nearly 10,000 jobs. The company's approach remains rooted in its founding insight: by bridging an ecosystem's genius with opportunity through community, mentorship, network, conviction, and capital, extraordinary outcomes follow.

Downing Capital Group is reimagining venture creation by building companies from the ground up. Since 2021, the firm has pioneered a distinctive approach to investing: they begin with proprietary business ideas, recruit exceptional management teams to execute them, and provide comprehensive capital and operational support. In just two years, Downing Capital has successfully co-founded multiple companies across diverse industries including Portoro (premium vacation property management), Cedar Brands (consumer goods), Ownershift, and Wellnest (healthcare). The firm’s philosophy centers on de-risking early-stage ventures through meticulous validation - spending 3-4 months vetting each concept before launch - and providing a multi-year funding runway without requiring external capital. Their platform offers portfolio companies an operational backbone including talent acquisition, brand-building, streamlined processes, and access to an extensive network of advisors and industry experts. This hands-on, ecosystem-driven model enables founding teams to focus entirely on building exceptional businesses while Downing Capital handles the critical back-end infrastructure that accelerates growth and reduces early-stage risk.

Forum Ventures is a leading early-stage fund, accelerator, and venture studio for B2B tech startups. Founded in 2014 and based in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto, the firm partners with B2B startups from concept through seed stage. Forum Ventures provides venture studio services, accelerator programs, and pre-seed funding to propel startup growth and success. The firm takes a founder-first approach, positioning itself as an extension of portfolio companies' founding teams. Forum Ventures has made 500+ pre-seed and seed investments globally, with portfolio founders raising over $1B in follow-on funding from top-tier firms like Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, and General Catalyst. The firm focuses particularly on AI-native B2B SaaS companies and offers comprehensive support including go-to-market strategy, fundraising guidance, customer introductions, and access to a community of 1,300+ founders.

Index Ventures is a global venture capital firm with a multi continental footprint. Headquartered in London, it maintains offices across San Francisco, New York, Geneva and Jersey, enabling ongoing collaboration with founders as they scale from seed through IPO. Over three decades Index has backed ambitious entrepreneurs who build technology enabled businesses that redefine industries. The firm takes a people first approach, offering capital, strategic guidance and a broad global network to support teams wherever they embark on growth. Index's portfolio includes notable companies such as Figma, Revolut, Scale AI, Wiz and other technology leaders, reflecting a consistent thesis around technology platforms, software and infrastructure. The team operates as one integrated unit across the Atlantic, investing across seed and series A to growth rounds and beyond. Index emphasizes deep relationships with founders, rigorous due diligence and a long term perspective, aiming to create durable value for entrepreneurs, their teams and Index LPs including philanthropic endowments and institutions seeking positive societal impact.

We believe in your vision before anyone else. The founder’s ally When ambitious ideas meet brilliant founders, there are no limits. From our team’s entrepreneurial experience to our ever-growing international network, everything we do is to create an environment where founders can thrive. The first believer We want to be your first call. To make an impression, all you need is an outstanding team and driven founders with a strong idea. The leading European ideas Good ideas know no borders - and neither do our investments. We’re a European fund with a genuine curiosity for new challenges and founders motivated to solve them. When we investPre-seed: It’s never too early for us to meet a founding team. We often invest before you have the product or revenue figured out. But we believe that the earlier we join, the farther we can take a company on its mission. Seed: We are an early-stage fund with an interest in all industries and sectors across Europe. If your idea seeks to solve the more challenging issues or brings light to emerging ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Our initial investments range between €300k and €3m. Support: A startup’s success isn’t just defined during funding rounds. Once you’ve hit the ground running and it’s time to build a strong team, our specialists and network experts are by your side to help on the most crucial tech and executive hires, strategic decisions, communications questions, and more. Beyond investments, we make connections.