Well-known investors Accel and Prosus have forged a new investment collaboration to support Indian startups from the very beginning, aiming for founders creating large-scale solutions capable of serving a vast number of people in the South Asian country.
Revealed on Monday, the partnership signifies the first time Prosus is investing during the formation phase. Both firms will jointly invest from a startup’s initial stages, concentrating on companies that are tackling systemic challenges across sectors such as automation, energy transition, internet services, and manufacturing.
India, the world’s most populous nation with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, is experiencing rapid expansion in its digital economy. The nation boasts over a billion internet users and more than 700 million smartphone users, making it the second-largest smartphone market after China. Government-supported platforms in India, such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar, have established a digital framework that empowers startups to develop and scale services swiftly. However, much of India’s startup activity thus far has centered on adapting global business models, with fewer companies addressing significant domestic issues. The Accel–Prosus alliance seeks to alter this.
The collaboration broadens Accel’s early-stage founder initiative, Atoms X, which was introduced in July to support startups the firm describes as “leap tech” — companies addressing systems-driven problems on a large scale.
“We believe the timing is optimal for the Indian startup ecosystem to transition from adapting global businesses to pioneering Indian models that facilitate India’s advancement toward becoming a developed nation,” stated Pratik Agarwal, a partner at Accel, in an interview.
He added that startups developing solutions for a large population often find it challenging to secure adequate early funding, due to lengthy development periods and the potential for significant equity dilution before achieving substantial traction.
“We hope to provide them with significantly more early capital at the appropriate time, enabling them to make considerable headway without encountering multiple false starts before achieving progress,” he shared with TechCrunch.
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As part of the partnership, Prosus has pledged to match Accel’s investment in each company, with initial investments ranging from $100,000 to $1 million — a figure that could potentially rise over time.
“We both had the option of continuing our individual efforts in this domain, but considering the scale of ambition displayed by these founders and the complexity of the problems they are attempting to solve, it seemed logical to combine our resources,” remarked Ashutosh Sharma, head of the India ecosystem at Prosus.
Historically, Prosus has concentrated on late-stage investments on a global scale. The Amsterdam-based firm lists Swiggy, Meesho, and PayU among its primary investments in India.
While Prosus has committed to matching Accel’s investment within this partnership, Sharma clarified that it is not seeking an equivalent equity stake.
“Obtaining that equity in the initial round is not a priority for us at all,” he conveyed to TechCrunch. “If we can genuinely identify the future Swiggy, Meesho, iFood, or Tencent — today — that is a significant achievement.”
The partnership also expands the scope of Accel and Prosus’s involvement in India. Recently, the two firms have jointly invested in startups like Arivihan, an AI-driven tutoring platform, and Wiom, a provider of low-cost internet services.
“Due to the ongoing AI-driven disruption, some countries will disproportionately benefit, while others will disproportionately lose,” Sharma noted. “The U.S. and China appear to be well-positioned as beneficiaries. Given this global landscape, what role will India play? Can India, through this ‘leap tech’ revolution, secure its rightful place, not only in AI but also beyond AI? This represents another aspiration we have for this program.”
The alliance emerges amidst escalating geopolitical tensions that have disrupted capital flows, technology supply chains, and market access — prompting global investors to re-evaluate secure and scalable capital deployment options. India, with its large domestic market, growing digital infrastructure, and expanding pool of technical talent, is increasingly viewed as a strategic priority in this context.
“India’s position in the global economy and geopolitical framework necessitates it charting and expediting its course towards becoming a self-governing, independent, developed nation,” Agarwal explained to TechCrunch.
Accel has already supported over 40 startups via its early-stage Atoms program. More than 30% of these have successfully raised subsequent funding from external investors, with Accel leading over half of those rounds.
According to Tracxn, VC funding in India decreased by 25% year-over-year to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2025, with late-stage deals declining by 27% to $2.7 billion and early-stage funding decreasing by 16% to $1.6 billion.
Despite this, India continues to be a key area of focus for global investors, fueled by its large population and increasing digital adoption. In September, eight U.S. and Indian VC and private equity firms — including Accel, Blume Ventures, Celesta Capital, and Premji Invest — established a coalition to support deep tech startups with a commitment exceeding $1 billion. The Accel–Prosus partnership represents the latest instance of global VCs making long-term investments in India.
