US VC Accel unveils $650m fund to invest in Indian start-ups
Accel, a venture capital firm headquartered in California, US, has announced a new $650 million early-stage fund (Fund VIII) with plans to invest in Indian fintech, AI, consumer, and manufacturing start-ups.
Accel unveils $650 million fund
Founded in 1983, Accel has offices in Palo Alto, San Francisco, London, and Bangalore. In 2024, the firm participated in Rainforest’s $20 million Series A and Coast’s $40 million Series B, and also led Zepz’s $267 million Series F funding round in October.
According to Accel, its Fund VIII arrives as the Indian start-up ecosystem reaches “a critical inflection point”, driven by “rising incomes, digital adoption, and sustained investments in public infrastructure”.
The VC has outlined the types of start-ups it is aiming to back, including AI companies that are enabling enterprise AI use cases through agentic technologies, large language models (LLMs), and small language models (SLMs).
It is also interested in companies integrating AI into vertical-specific applications and those that are “taking advantage of India’s large IT services capabilities to provide better automation offerings”.
In the fintech space, Accel says it is looking to invest in wealth management start-ups “catering to affluent consumers seeking personalised wealth advisory services through digital channels”, as well as fintech infrastructure and digital distribution companies.
Moreover, Accel also highlighted its interest in investing in Indian manufacturing and consumer start-ups.
In addition to financial backing, Accel says it supports its portfolio companies through its open-source platform, SeedToScale, which provides “company-building insights” from founders and industry leaders, as well as through its early-stage scaling programme, Accel Atoms.
