Google and Accel Launch $2M AI Startup Fund Targeting India's Next Generation of AI Innovators

Google teams up with Accel to hunt for India's next AI breakouts | TechCrunch

Google has partnered with Accel to find and fund India's earliest-stage AI startups in a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the Google AI Futures Fund, launched earlier this year. On Tuesday, Accel and Google announced a partnership to jointly invest up to $2 million in each startup through Accel's Atoms program, with both firms contributing up to $1 million. The 2026 cohort will focus on founders in India and the Indian diaspora building AI products from day one. "The thought process is building AI products for billions of Indians, as well as supporting AI products built in India for global markets," Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel, told TechCrunch. India is an appealing market with the world's second-largest internet and smartphone base after China and its deep engineering talent. Still, it's also country that lacks frontier model development and hasn't produced many companies pushing the technical frontier of AI, where development remains concentrated in the U.S. and China. Activity is starting to shift, however, as major firms including OpenAI and Anthropic have recently announced offices in the country, and global investors step up early-stage commitments. The bet is that a large, mobile-first population, expanding cloud infrastructure, and relatively low software costs could turn India into a meaningful AI market -- if the ecosystem can translate talent and demand into original research and products. Swaroop said investments will be geared toward just about any area: creativity, entertainment, coding, and work. "The future of work here is more encompassing, which is essentially SaaS, and all other applications," he told TechCrunch. "It could even be foundational models." Swaroop said the firms will also try to identify areas where large language models are likely to advance over the next 12-24 months and look for Indian startups building in those directions. Alongside capital, founders will receive up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind, as well as early access to Gemini and DeepMind models, APIs, and experimental features. The program will include support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, co-development opportunities, monthly mentorship with Accel partners and Google technical leads, and immersion sessions in London and the Bay Area, including Google I/O. Founders will also get marketing support through Accel and Google's global channels, as well as access to the Atoms founder network and Google's AI builder ecosystem, the companies said. "India has an incredible history of innovation, and we firmly believe that its founders are going to be playing a leading role in the next generation of AI-led global technology," Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of the Google AI Futures Fund, told TechCrunch. "This is the Futures Fund's first such collaboration anywhere in the world, and we chose India for a reason. Google has been a committed partner in the country's journey to digital transformation, with multibillion-dollar investments over the years." Silber told TechCrunch that Google would appear on the cap tables of startups funded through the partnership and would be "a material presence," but declined to share how its equity stakes would compare with Accel's. "This is our attempt to work with the market leader in the space who knows the country incredibly well, that can get us talking to earlier stage founders at an early informative stage, that can move the needle," Silber said. While using Google products is, perhaps, a given for applicants to this program, both Silber and Swaroop told TechCrunch there would be no requirements for startups to exclusively use Gemini or any other Google product. "Sometimes, Google's technology is the best. Other times, you'll see Anthropic or OpenAI. So, we're not putting firm requirements that say you can only use Google's models," said Silber. "What we're hoping to do, though, is find a couple of different unique integrations that we can do with these companies that leverage Google AI technology." Launched in 2021, Accel's pre-seed and seed platform, Atoms, has backed more than 40 companies that have collectively raised over $300 million in follow-on funding. The firm expanded the program this year to include Indian-origin founders based overseas. The latest collaboration comes days after Accel's partnership with Prosus to co-invest in Atoms X, backing early-stage Indian founders building large-scale solutions with the potential to serve the masses in the country. Silber told TechCrunch that Google is not structuring the partnership as a pathway to future acquisitions, or even future cloud customers. "We're not a sales team, so we're not specifically looking to sign up new cloud customers. That's not our goal," he said. "In terms of KPIs, our objective is simply to see the next wave of innovation in the AI space coming out of India."

Google's AI Futures Fund and Accel Atoms are launching a program to accelerate AI innovation in India.

Google is teaming up with Accel Atoms to launch a new cohort dedicated to kickstarting the next wave of AI innovation in India. We are looking for visionary pre-seed founders ready to build bold AI applications. Through the Accel Atoms x AI Futures Fund, selected startups will receive: * Exclusive access: Early usage of Google DeepMind's advanced models, including Gemini, Imagen and Veo. * Expert mentorship: Hands-on support from engineering, product and GTM specialists at Google and Accel. * Technical fuel: Google Cloud credits and dedicated support to build and scale. * Funding: Opportunities for direct equity investment from Accel and Google. Ready to build? Applications are now open via the Accel India portal. The cohort begins in February 2026. You can read more on the India Blog.

Google & Accel to Launch Atoms AI Cohort 2026 for Indian Startups | AIM

Together, the two companies will invest $2 million in the startups and $350,000 in compute credits. Google's AI Futures Fund has teamed up with Accel Atoms to launch a new cohort of AI startups, seeking pre-seed founders building innovative AI applications. Selected startups participating in the Accel Atoms x AI Futures Fund will benefit from a unique opportunity package that includes exclusive early access to Google DeepMind's models, such as Gemini, Imagen, and Veo. Participants will receive mentorship from experts in engineering, product development, and go-to-market strategies at Google and Accel. Founders will also learn from global leaders like Sergey Brin and participate in an immersion programme in London and the Bay Area to connect with the global AI ecosystem. Additionally, they will gain technical resources, including up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini and DeepMind. Finally, startups will have the chance to receive direct equity investments of up to $2 million from both Accel and Google for Indian & Indian-origin founders, providing essential financial backing to accelerate their growth. This partnership comes after Prosus joined Atoms X last month to support LeapTech founders creating next-generation companies at the crossroads of science and engineering. "Together, these partnerships reflect Accel's mission to back founders early and connect them with global platforms that can accelerate their growth," the investment company said in a statement. Applications for the Atoms AI Cohort 2026 are currently open at atoms.accel.com. Eligible founders must apply by January 26, 2026. The programme will commence in February 2026. The cohort will support founders transitioning from engineering to orchestrating software. It will invest in AI that minimises tedious tasks, enabling workers to become 'managers' of specialised AI agents, while promoting creativity and participatory entertainment. "There's no model restriction, use what's best for your use case. However, we're looking for at least one Gemini integration in your solution," Accel Atoms said.

Accel partners with Google to back Indian AI startups with $2 million co-investment

This partnership, through the Google AI Futures Fund, will also back diaspora founders building for India and global markets. Under the cohort, selected startups will receive funding, access to Google Cloud, Gemini and DeepMind resources, as well as mentorship. Venture capital fund Accel and Google have joined hands to launch the 2026 AI Cohort under Accel's Atoms programme, with plans to co-invest up to $2 million in early-stage Indian artificial intelligence startups. This partnership, through the Google AI Futures Fund, will also back diaspora founders building for India and global markets. Under the cohort, selected startups will receive funding, access to Google Cloud, Gemini and DeepMind resources, as well as mentorship. Accel partner Prayank Swaroop said this initiative is about "creating a ready stack of resources to help Indian founders build and scale globally from day one". The Atoms programme has been running for four years, going from a multi-industry focus to specifically backing AI startups. The fund has backed 40 companies through Atoms, and these startups have collectively raised more than $300 million in follow-on funding. Swaroop explained that both Accel and Google will invest equity in these startups, with Accel putting in up to $1 million and Google matching that amount. This is the first collaboration of this kind by Google's AI Futures Fund anywhere globally. This financial backing is "just part of the equation", said Jonathan Silber of Google DeepMind. "We're giving our founders a distinct advantage in early-stage India. This is a mix of capital and compute, and direct technical support from some of the best minds at Google and Google DeepMind, as well as the best business minds at Accel," he told the media in a virtual meeting. Part of the benefit for startups will be early access to AI models. Silber noted that companies in the cohort will get early exposure to Google's latest technology, including Gemini 3, its latest model designed for reasoning tasks. The fund is looking to support founders building all parts of the AI stack. This includes startups working on coding tools, productivity and work solutions, creative platforms and entertainment technologies. While these are the main focus areas, the fund may also invest in other promising companies they discover, Silber said. Swaroop said the programme recognises Indian founders, adding that homegrown startups often work at the intersection of AI and the physical world. "India has an advantage in fields like robotics and healthcare due to its large data pools and clinical testing infrastructure," he said. "Good companies are always heartlessly, hotly contested. If it's a very good company, I'm OK to take a single-digit stake. We have done investments globally where we have single-digit stakes because we just believe the company will do well," Swaroop said. The exact ownership details are confidential but both companies emphasised their commitment to investing in as many promising startups as possible without a cap on the fund size. Beyond funding, the programme aims to provide personalised support for startups. In a "bespoke model", Accel and Google will work with each company to meet its specific needs.

Google, Accel partner to back Indian AI startups

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google and venture capital firm Accel will partner to fund at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups, marking the U.S. technology giant's first such funding partnership, top executives at the companies said on Thursday. The move comes as several U.S. tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon and OpenAI make a beeline for the world's most populous nation, seen as a critical growth market where nearly a billion users access the internet. Under the partnership, Google's AI Futures Fund and Accel will co-invest up to $2 million in each startup, Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel, told Reuters in an interview, with the investments focussed on the wide areas of entertainment, creativity, work and coding. The announcement comes after Google in October said it would invest $15 billion over five years to set up an AI data centre in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, its biggest-ever investment in the country. Its AI Futures Fund, launched six months ago, has funded over 30 companies, including Indian webtoon startup Toonsutra and U.S.-based legal-tech firm Harvey. Google has also teamed up with India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio to provide free access to Gemini AI for 505 million users. "We firmly believe that the founders in India, they are going to be playing a leading role in defining that next era of global technology," Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of Google's AI Futures Fund, said. "...we think that it's critical to invest in the early stage. Particularly in key markets like India, so that we can be at the forefront of investing in the next generation of AI leaders." India's AI market is projected to reach $17 billion by 2027, according to IT industry body Nasscom and consulting firm BCG. Global AI spend is seen at nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025, and will exceed $2 trillion in 2026, as per market research firm Gartner. (Reporting by Abhirami G and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Mrigank Dhaniwala)