AntlerIndia’s 4Cr residency
AntlerIndia’s AI Residency is offering 4 Crore INR upfront and has backed 14 hard‑tech pre‑product startups (examples: MEINE_electric, Kubocare), with organizers flagging 5–6 emerging leaders from the cohort (x.com). The program signals continued VC interest in hard‑tech residencies that seed capital‑intensive founders early (x.com).
Antler published the AI Residency on February 4, 2026, opening applications with a deadline of February 19, 2026 and a residency start date of February 23, 2026. (antler.co) The firm says residency founders get a one‑time ₹2 lakh expense grant (funded by Hancock Prospecting) and that Antler fast‑tracks investment decisions, targeting a decision window of roughly three weeks for residency teams. (antler.co) Antler advertises more than $1 million in AI‑relevant perks for participants, explicitly guaranteeing $350,000 in Azure credits regardless of whether a team receives follow‑on capital and citing up to $4 million in total perks after investment. (antler.co) In the same announcement Antler said it has backed 51 AI‑native or AI‑first startups in India to date, positioning the residency as part of that pipeline. (antler.co) Antler’s India arm closed a maiden India fund and reported backing 30 startups in 2024, taking its India portfolio toward roughly 80 companies, driven in part by companies emerging from its residency programs. (antler.co) Antler told press it plans to deploy roughly $25 million into about 50 Indian startups in 2025, and coverage from January 2026 said the team intends to run residency cohorts more frequently while trimming cohort sizes to focus on higher‑conviction founders. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (yourstory.com)
