Accel Unveils Fourth Cohort Of Its Atoms Programme With Eye On AI, Bharat-Focused Startups

Multi-stage venture capital firm Accel, which counts Moneyview, Flipkart, Swiggy and Moglix among its unicorns portfolio, has announced the fourth cohort of its flagship pre-seed investment programme Atoms.

The programme will target startups operating in artificial intelligence as well as ‘Bharat’-focused startups working in sectors including ecommerce, financial services, healthcare and edtech among others.

Accel said that it will be investing up to $1 Mn in the selected startups, along with perks worth $5 Mn.

According to the VC, ‘Bharat’ is defined as the middle-income households spread across Tier II, III and rural India.

Applications for the Accel Atoms 4.0 opens next Monday (September 16) and will close on November 17.

The investment firm further said in its blog post that for the fourth programme it is targeting innovative founders, who are creating scalable, economically feasible solutions tailored to the needs of ‘Bharat’ consumers.

For the uninitiated, the VC firm will be launching its ‘Bharat’ cohort for the first time in partnership with SaaS-based consultancy startup xto10x. The 12-week programme will be spearheaded by Accel’s partner Anand Daniel. 

Meanwhile, for its AI cohort, Accel is looking to onboard India-born founders’ floated startups which are tapping AI tools for business operations. It is also looking to diversify its AI stack, involving small language models, testing tools and core AI models.

It is pertinent to note that this will be Accel’s second AI cohort to be led by Accel’s partner Prayank Swaroop.

Accel also claims that 70% of its portfolio comprises founders building their startups in AI. 

In March, the VC firm selected eight startups, including Spintly, Asets and Tune AI, among others, for its six-month pre-seed accelerator programme Atoms 3.0. The programme focused on startups building in AI and Industry 5.0 domains.

As per the company, in the first three Accel Atoms cohorts, over 32 startups have collectively raised over $200M from global investors so far.

Yesterday, Accel-backed lending tech startup Moneyview entered the unicorn club after raising INR 38.6 Cr (about $4.6 Mn) in an equity funding round, escalating the company’s valuation to $1.2 Bn.