Accel and Prosus Team Up to Back Early-Stage Indian Startups
Storied investors Accel and Prosus team up to back early-stage Indian startups, marking a new chapter in India’s fast-growing innovation landscape. The partnership aims to empower founders solving large-scale challenges in automation, energy, and digital services — driving India’s next generation of tech success stories.
A First for Prosus: Investing from Day Zero
Announced on Monday, this collaboration marks Prosus’s first investment initiative at the formation stage. Together, Accel and Prosus will co-invest from a startup’s earliest days, providing critical early funding to founders tackling systemic challenges across automation, energy transition, internet services, and manufacturing.
Why India’s Startup Scene Is Ready for This Move
India — home to over 1.4 billion people and more than a billion internet users — is witnessing rapid digital transformation. Government-backed platforms like UPI and Aadhaar have laid a solid foundation for entrepreneurs to scale quickly. Yet many Indian startups still focus on adapting global models rather than developing original, homegrown solutions.
The new Accel–Prosus partnership seeks to change that narrative by encouraging startups that build for India’s unique problems — from infrastructure to sustainability — and scale those innovations globally.
Building on Accel’s “Atoms X” Program
This collaboration expands Accel’s early-stage founder initiative, Atoms X, launched in July 2025. The program backs what Accel calls “leap tech” startups — those creating transformative, systems-driven solutions to India’s most pressing challenges.
“We feel now the time is right for the Indian startup ecosystem to move from adapting global businesses to creating Indian models that help India leapfrog its journey toward becoming a developed country,” said Pratik Agarwal, Partner at Accel.
Bridging the Early Capital Gap
Agarwal added that startups working on population-scale problems often face funding challenges in their earliest stages. Such companies have longer development cycles and higher capital needs, which can lead to heavy dilution before reaching significant traction.
By pooling resources, Accel and Prosus aim to provide deeper early capital support, giving these high-impact startups the runway they need to grow sustainably and innovate boldly.
Strengthening India’s Global Startup Influence
With this alliance, both firms aim to reshape India’s startup narrative — from fast followers to global leaders. By focusing on scalable innovation, local relevance, and deep technology, Accel and Prosus are betting on India’s next generation of founders to create solutions that not only serve a billion Indians but also set global benchmarks.
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