Accel and Prosus team up to back early-stage Indian startups

Storied traders Accel and Prosus have launched a brand new funding partnership to again Indian startups from day zero, focusing on founders constructing large-scale options with the potential to serve the plenty within the South Asian nation.

Introduced on Monday, the collaboration marks the primary time Prosus is investing on the formation stage. Each companies will co-invest from a startup’s earliest days, with a deal with corporations addressing systemic challenges throughout sectors akin to automation, vitality transition, web companies, and manufacturing.

India, the world’s most populous nation with over 1.4 billion folks, is seeing speedy progress in its digital economic system. The nation has greater than a billion web customers and over 700 million smartphone customers, making it the second-largest smartphone market after China. The Indian government-backed platforms such because the Unified Funds Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar have created a digital infrastructure that allows startups to construct and scale companies rapidly. But a lot of India’s startup exercise so far has centered on adapting international enterprise fashions, with fewer corporations tackling large-scale home challenges. The Accel–Prosus alliance is trying to change that.

The partnership expands Accel’s early-stage founder program, Atoms X, launched in July to again what the agency calls “leap tech” startups — corporations engaged on large-scale, systems-driven issues.

“We really feel now the time is true for the Indian startup ecosystem to maneuver from adapting international companies to creating Indian fashions that assist India leapfrog its journey in changing into a developed nation,” stated Pratik Agarwal, a companion at Accel, in an interview.

He added that startups engaged on population-scale options typically battle to boost ample early capital, given their lengthy gestation intervals and the danger of heavy dilution earlier than reaching significant traction.

“Hopefully, we’re bringing much more early capital to them on the proper time in order that they will make substantial progress with out going by means of a number of rounds of false begins earlier than they make progress,” he informed TechCrunch.

Underneath the partnership, Prosus has dedicated to match Accel’s funding in every firm, with preliminary checks starting from $100,000 to $1 million — a determine that might improve over time.

“We might each proceed to do our personal issues on this area, however given how giant the ambition is with these founders, and given how tough an issue that they’re making an attempt to resolve, it made all of the sense for us to place our sources collectively,” stated Ashutosh Sharma, head of India ecosystem at Prosus.

Historically, Prosus has centered on late-stage investments globally. The Amsterdam-headquartered agency counts Swiggy, Meesho, and PayU amongst its key investments in India.

Whereas Prosus has dedicated to matching Accel’s funding on this partnership, Sharma indicated it isn’t searching for an equal fairness stake.

“For us, getting that fairness within the first spherical just isn’t essential in any respect,” he informed TechCrunch. “If we are able to actually determine a Swiggy, a Meesho, an iFood, or a Tencent of tomorrow — right this moment — that’s success sufficient.”

The partnership additionally broadens the scope of Accel and Prosus’s exercise in India. In current months, the 2 companies have co-invested in startups akin to AI-powered tutoring platform Arivihan and low-cost web service supplier Wiom.

“Due to this AI-led disruption that’s taking place round us, some international locations will likely be disproportionate beneficiaries of this — and a few international locations will likely be disproportionate internet, internet losers,” stated Sharma. “Two international locations that appear very positioned to be beneficiaries are the U.S. and China. Now in that world order, and in that world narrative, what’s India’s area? And may India, subsequently, as a part of this ‘leap tech’ revolution, discover the rightful place, not simply in AI, however past AI, is the opposite, let’s say, ambition that we’ve with this program.”

The alliance comes amid rising geopolitical tensions which have disrupted capital flows, know-how provide chains, and market entry — prompting international traders to reassess the place capital could be deployed safely and at scale. With a big home market, increasing digital infrastructure, and a deepening pool of technical expertise, India is more and more seen as a strategic precedence on this panorama.

“India’s place within the international economic system and the geopolitical system is such that India must chart and speed up its path like a self-sovereign, impartial, developed nation,” Agarwal informed TechCrunch.

Accel has already backed greater than 40 startups by means of its early-stage program, Atoms. Over 30% of them have gone on to boost follow-on funding from exterior traders, with Accel itself main greater than half of these rounds.

VC funding in India fell 25% year-over-year to $4.8 billion within the first half of 2025, per Tracxn, with late-stage offers dropping 27% to $2.7 billion and early-stage funding down 16% to $1.6 billion.

Nonetheless, India stays a key focus for international traders, pushed by its giant inhabitants and increasing digital adoption. In September, eight U.S. and Indian VC and personal fairness companies — together with Accel, Blume Ventures, Celesta Capital, and Premji Make investments — shaped a coalition to again deep tech startups with over $1 billion in dedication. The Accel–Prosus partnership is the newest instance of how international VCs proceed to put long-term bets on India.