Accel announced it has secured $650 million for its eighth India-focused fund, according to several reports. This brings Accel’s total commitments for India-focused companies to nearly $3 billion. Accel India has been an early-stage investor in successful companies such as Blackbuck, Bluestone, Flipkart, Freshworks, and Swiggy.
It is also believed that Accel’s global growth fund also raised $1.35 billion. Part of that will be used for Indian startups in the pre-IPO stages. Accel considers itself a patient investor, and it likes to invest in companies at as early as possible to be in the best position to support company growth.
Accel’s seventh India-focused fund was raised in March 2022 at $650 million. This was higher than the $550 million raised for the sixth vehicle in 2019 and $450 million fifth vehicle in 2016. Accel started investing in India back in 2005, with the first fund launching in 2008 at $10 million. The seventh India-focused fund emphasized on fintech, SaaS, digital health, and Web3 companies.
Some of Accel’s investments in India have included companies participating in the firm’s SeedtoScale and Atoms programs. Accel recently announced the fourth cohort of its pre-seed investment program, Atoms. This program targets startups focused on artificial intelligence, e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, education, etc. The mentors of the fourth Atoms cohort are Accel partners Prayank Swaroop and Anand Daniel. The 3-month Atoms program offers investments of up to $1 million in equity or convertible notes.
