A leading global venture capital firm, Accel, has expanded its pre-seed scaling programme with Accel Atoms AI and Accel Atoms X.
In a statement made available to Business Post, the firm said startup founders of India extraction in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem have the opportunity to receive funding support of up to $1 million in equity or convertible notes.
In addition, selected startups in the AI program could access perks worth more than $5 million from Accel’s network partners, and personalized mentorship.
The Accel Atoms AI program seeks visionary Indian-origin founders based anywhere in the world who are using AI for business applications or building foundational tools for the AI ecosystem.
The program welcomes startups working across the AI stack—from foundational models (like small language models on the edge, video/robotics data, etc.) to infrastructure (testing tools, securing LLM systems) and applications (core AI models and agents).
“We’re seeing a fundamental shift where Indian founders in AI are moving to global markets earlier than ever before, to be closer to their first customers.
“These founders understand that while AI is borderless, execution isn’t. They’re building from day zero with global ambition, but they need the right support system to navigate cross-border complexities. That’s what we’re providing through Accel Atoms – the ability to build and iterate with the backing of capital, mentorship, and infrastructure without being constrained by geography,” a Partner at Accel, Prayank Swaroop, said.
Another partner, Anand Daniel, noted that, “Indian and Indian-origin founders are right at the center of the inflection point in AI.
“The success of companies like Ema and Bridgetown Research shows us that founders tapping into the cross-border advantage – building what customers want, with great speed, and while tapping into the breadth and depth of India’s talent pool – can beat global competition by a significant margin.”
The Accel Atoms X is a new track for breakthrough innovation led by a Partner at Accel, Pratik Agarwal.
The program focuses on LeapTech innovations that radically improve the human experience through novel products, technologies, or business models. These ideas often require long development cycles, deep conviction, and non-linear thinking.
“LeapTech ideas often take years of iteration before product-market fit is clear—but their ability to fundamentally reshape how we live or build is unmistakable.
“With Atoms X, we’re moving beyond the traditional cohort model to back founders right at the inception whether they’re still refining the idea or pre-revenue. Our goal is to offer early conviction and a deeply supportive ecosystem from day zero,” Agarwal stated.
Since its launch in 2021, Accel Atoms has backed over 40 early-stage startups across sectors, many of which have gone on to raise significant follow-on funding and build category-defining businesses.