Antler appoints Frank Kang as associate partner and country head for Malaysia

• Kang will lead Antler Malaysia to invest in over 30 startups
• The first Founders Residency Program to kick off in October 2023

Global venture capital firm Antler today announced the appointment of Frank Kang (pic) as associate partner for Malaysia. This senior-level appointment further strengthens Antler’s commitment to investing in early-stage startups and backing regional founders.
 
Kang will also take the country head role to lead the company’s investment strategy and operations in Malaysia. He brings to Antler 17 years of entrepreneurial skills across various industries.

“Being a senior school year dropout and having experienced both failure and success early in my career, I’m excited to support founders to build and scale meaningful businesses that can positively impact the world. I believe local talents in Malaysia have a huge potential, and we will be able to help them think globally,” said Kang.

His journey began when he co-founded a social networking service at 23 with an investment from Japan’s SoftBank. Frank then ventured into Silicon Valley to bring Twitter services to Korea. He led to establishing one of the largest Twitter directories in Korea, with over two million users at the time.
 
Back in Malaysia, Kang acquired everyday.com.my, which later rebranded to LivingSocial Malaysia, and expanded the team from seven to more than 160 employees. He then founded Althea, Korea’s premier beauty platform with digitally native vertical brands. Althea managed to raise funds from global institutional investors.
 
Before his appointment with Antler, Kang was the Venture Partner of Vynn Capital and was an angel investor and advisor.

“We are proud to welcome Kang as we strengthen the firm globally across 26 cities, including Malaysia. With Kang’s proven track record of building scalable businesses in Asia, his vast experiences are bound to expand the entrepreneurial impact of Malaysians across borders,” said Jussi Salovaara (pic), Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia of Antler
 
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Antler aims to invest in over 30 startups across Malaysia over the next three years. The first residency program in Malaysia will commence in October 2023. Founders can find out more about the program and submit applications here.

[Ed: An earlier version left out the hyperlink for the program. The omission is regretted.]
 
Antler is one of the most active early-stage investors globally and has invested in over 792 companies across 26 cities worldwide, amassing a cumulative portfolio value of US$3.7 billion (RM16.92 billion).