Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Global venture capital firm Accel on January 6 said it has raised a $650 million early-stage fund, dedicated to supporting next-generation of founders in India and Southeast Asia (SEA). Accel’s latest fund, its eighth in India and SEA, will build on its commitment to partnering with early-stage founders to build disruptive, category-defining businesses that create meaningful impact.
With this fund, the VC firm said it will continue to partner with founders in AI, consumer brands, fintech, and manufacturing.
As the fastest growing major economy globally, India’s GDP per capita is projected to rise by 60 per cent from $2,700 in 2024 to $4,300 by 2029. According to the VC firm, India’s consumption story is expected to remain robust, and investments in public and digital infrastructure are expected to deliver sustained long-term economic growth.
“India is at an inflection point. Over the next decade, we are poised to add more to our GDP than we have in our economic history. The surface area of the opportunity for Indian founders to build and scale businesses that deliver large-scale impact is huge,” said Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel.
With this latest fund, “we are focused on AI, consumer, fintech, and manufacturing —areas that are reshaping industries and addressing the needs of a rapidly evolving market,” Swaroop added.
While India’s public markets have grown 3 times over the last 10 years, VC-backed companies represent less than 5 per cent of the market capitalization.
Public markets have started to embrace technology-led businesses, as demonstrated by two of its most recent listings, BlackBuck and Swiggy. Accel was the seed investor in both these companies.
Accel has made substantial investments in companies across sectors such as Amagi, Acko, BlackBuck, BlueStone, BrowserStack, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company, and Zetwerk.
According to Shekhar Kirani, Partner at Accel, “India’s startup ecosystem is increasingly becoming the driving force behind the nation’s economic progress, with VC-backed companies surpassing $50 billion in public market capitalisation.
