Coaxial commits up to A$30 million to Antler Australia Fund III and women founders

On 9 October 2026, the Coaxial Foundation, the philanthropic vehicle of Nicola Forrest AO, announced it would commit up to A$30 million to Antler, the early-stage venture firm. The money anchors Antler Australia Fund III and funds a women-founder program called Momentum powered by Coaxial.

The announcement does not give a closing date for Fund III.

How the A$60,000 grants work without taking equity

Momentum pays two grants of A$60,000 to eligible women-founded companies. The first is paid when Antler makes its initial investment. The second becomes available at the next funding milestone, and the sources describe that trigger differently. Startup Daily says it comes when an outside investor underwrites the round. The Antler release ties it to Antler’s follow-on investment.

Both sources say the grants do not dilute founders’ ownership, and Startup Daily says the grants and Antler’s investments are separate. Michael Kron, general partner at Antler, told Startup Daily that a company that wins Antler investment and reaches the next milestone could receive upwards of A$1 million in support within its first 12 months. Skye Theodorou, co-founder and CEO of Upcover, said in the Antler release that Antler backed her before she had a team or company.

Women founders in 2025
Startups with at least one female founder took 24% of total capital raised by Australian startups in 2025, up from 15% in 2024, according to the State of Australian Startup Funding report. All-women founding teams took 2%.

How the 15% follow-on commitment fits the fund

Coaxial’s A$30 million has two parts. A$20 million goes into Antler Australia Fund III under the Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership program, on the same terms as other limited partners, according to Startup Daily. The fund targets a minimum of A$70 million. The remaining up to A$10 million covers grants, co-investments and operating costs for women founders. Startup Daily reports that Kron said A$1 million of that goes over four years to give Antler’s team more resources to find and support female founders.

On follow-on rounds, Coaxial will pre-commit 15% of the round, alongside Antler’s existing 33% commitment. Startup Daily says the two together would cover 48% of the round before the incoming investor’s contribution. The Antler release says the 15% pre-commitment is triggered at Antler’s follow-on investment. Neither source gives a dollar value for the 15% share.

How the figures compare with the women-founder funding gap

SmartCompany’s report on the State of Australian Startup Funding, compiled by Cut Through Venture and Folklore Ventures, puts 2025 startup funding in Australia at $5.1 billion, up 24% from 2024. Startups with at least one female founder took 24% of that capital, up from 15%, but their share of deals fell from 27% to 23%. All-women founding teams took 2% of capital.

Over seven years it has invested A$19 million in 66 women founders across 56 companies, and those founders have raised A$109 million, according to the Antler release. Antler says all-women founding teams in its portfolio return 2.6 times their initial investment, against 2.1 times for the whole fund. The up-to-A$10 million women-founder allocation is separate from the A$20 million fund investment, and the fund targets a minimum of A$70 million.

Antler says all-women founding teams in its portfolio return 2.6 times their initial investment, against 2.1 times for the whole fund.

Eligibility, unresolved details and next steps

Neither the Antler release nor Startup Daily lists eligibility criteria beyond the company being women-founded. Startup Daily says the program targets the first two rounds, which Kron described as inception and pre-seed, with the aim of helping founders reach seed and Series A funding. In the Antler release, Nicola Forrest said there is no shortage of talented, ambitious women in Australia.

The sources differ on scale. ABL, the Australian law firm that advised Nicola Forrest and the Coaxial Foundation, describes Momentum as aimed at about 200 female founders over four years. Streamline Feed reports up to 250 founders and also a four-year term, and notes that the announcement does not promise A$30 million in cash grants to 250 startups. The Antler release gives no target number and no duration. The announcement gives no application dates and no eligibility rule beyond gender.

Photo: Missionedit · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons