In a pioneering collaboration for the Google AI Futures Fund, which was unveiled earlier in the year, Google has joined forces with Accel to identify and provide financial backing to India’s nascent AI startups.
Accel and Google revealed on Tuesday a cooperative investment initiative, committing up to $2 million per startup via Accel’s Atoms program, with each organization contributing as much as $1 million. The 2026 group will prioritize Indian founders, along with those in the Indian diaspora, who are developing AI products from the outset.
“The core idea involves creating AI products for the vast Indian population, while also fostering AI products developed in India for the global arena,” Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel, shared with TechCrunch.
India presents an appealing market, boasting the world’s second-largest base of internet and smartphone users, surpassed only by China, and a wealth of engineering talent. However, it lags in advanced model development and has not produced numerous companies at the forefront of AI technology, where progress remains largely concentrated in the U.S. and China.
Nevertheless, the landscape is beginning to change, with major players like OpenAI and Anthropic recently announcing their presence in the country, and global investors increasing early-stage investments. The expectation is that India’s extensive, mobile-centric population, growing cloud infrastructure, and relatively low software costs could transform it into a significant AI hub, provided the ecosystem can convert talent and demand into groundbreaking research and products.
Swaroop indicated that investments would span a wide array of sectors, including creativity, entertainment, coding, and work. “The concept of the future of work here is broader, encompassing SaaS and various other applications,” he told TechCrunch. “It might even extend to foundational models.”
Swaroop mentioned that the firms will also focus on pinpointing areas where large language models are poised for advancement in the coming 12-24 months and seek out Indian startups innovating in those directions.
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In addition to funding, founders will gain access to up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind, alongside early access to Gemini and DeepMind models, APIs, and experimental features. The program will offer support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, opportunities for joint development, regular mentorship from Accel partners and Google technical experts, and immersive experiences in London and the Bay Area, including Google I/O. Participants will also receive marketing assistance via Accel and Google’s global platforms, as well as entry into the Atoms founder network and Google’s AI builder ecosystem, according to the companies.
“India boasts an impressive history of innovation, and we strongly believe that its founders will play a pivotal role in the upcoming generation of AI-driven global technology,” Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of the Google AI Futures Fund, stated to TechCrunch. “This marks the Futures Fund’s inaugural collaboration of its kind globally, and we have chosen India intentionally. Google has been a steadfast partner in the nation’s digital transformation journey, demonstrated through multibillion-dollar investments over the years.”
This partnership follows Google’s recent announcement of a $15 billion investment plan to establish a 1-gigawatt data center and AI hub in India. Furthermore, the company introduced a $10 billion digitization fund in 2020, which has supported companies such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Last month, Google collaborated with Reliance to provide millions of Jio users with complimentary access to AI Pro.
Google introduced the AI Futures Fund in May as a specific vehicle to invest in and work alongside AI startups on a global scale. It has provided backing to companies like Replit and Harvey, and has also directly invested in Indian startups such as Toonsutra and STAN.
Silber informed TechCrunch that Google would be represented on the cap tables of startups funded through the partnership and would maintain “a significant presence,” though he refrained from disclosing how its equity stakes would compare to those of Accel.
“This initiative represents our effort to collaborate with the market leader in this domain, which possesses extensive knowledge of the country. This collaboration will enable us to engage with early-stage founders at an informative stage and significantly influence their trajectory,” Silber explained.
While the use of Google products is likely expected for applicants to this program, both Silber and Swaroop clarified to TechCrunch that there would be no stipulations requiring startups to exclusively utilize Gemini or any other Google product.
“In some instances, Google’s technology may be the superior choice. In others, you might find Anthropic or OpenAI more suitable. Therefore, we are not imposing strict requirements that mandate the exclusive use of Google’s models,” Silber clarified. “Our aspiration, however, is to identify several unique integrations that we can establish with these companies, leveraging Google AI technology.”
Launched in 2021, Accel’s pre-seed and seed platform, Atoms, has supported over 40 companies that have collectively secured more than $300 million in subsequent funding. This year, the firm broadened the program to include founders of Indian origin who are based internationally.
This recent collaboration follows Accel’s partnership with Prosus to co-invest in Atoms X, supporting early-stage Indian founders who are developing scalable solutions with the potential to serve a broad audience within the country.
Silber communicated to TechCrunch that Google is not designing the partnership as a conduit for future acquisitions, or even prospective cloud clients.
“We do not operate as a sales division, and our primary focus is not on acquiring new cloud customers. That is not our objective,” he stated. “Regarding KPIs, our goal is simply to observe the emergence of the next wave of innovation in the AI sector originating from India.”
