Early-stage investor Antler has unveiled 28 startups from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia as part of its Asia Regional Portfolio Showcase, highlighting a shift from AI copilots and productivity tools toward autonomous systems capable of independently executing complex tasks.

In a statement on Monday, Singapore-based Antler said more than half of the companies are building AI agents, autonomous systems, or AI-native businesses, spanning AI infrastructure, digital workers, robotics, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, energy systems, and consumer experiences.

Among the cohort, seven startups are building agentic enterprise AI solutions and six focus on AI-native commerce and consumer engagement, together accounting for nearly half the cohort. Examples include CONPA, an AI-powered construction cost estimating agent; IndustrialMind, an AI manufacturing engineer that converts technical drawings into production-ready decisions; and Shiplinker, which applies AI-powered decision intelligence to global maritime operations.

The AI infrastructure and developer tools category includes AppSec AI, which automatically fixes software security vulnerabilities, and Nugen Intelligence, which develops AI alignment infrastructure for enterprise reliability. Healthcare and life sciences startups featured include Alphagrid, Maia Care, and Verixus Labs. Robotics and physical AI companies include Beyond Robotics, focused on agricultural harvesting automation, and LambdAI Space, which transforms satellite data into asset-level intelligence.

Jussi Salovaara, Co-Founder and Managing Partner for Asia at Antler, said every industry is about to get a new workforce, some physical and some digital. The showcase represents the full stack of that shift being built out of Asia for the world, the executive added.

The showcase also marks a milestone in Antler’s regional strategy, with Korea and Japan now forming part of a unified Asia platform alongside Southeast Asia. The firm has also expanded its focus on China-outbound entrepreneurship, backing founders building globally oriented companies from inception.

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