Accel Venture Capital has announced the launch of its ninth fund, which will invest $650 million to support early-stage entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia. This program demonstrates the company's dedication to driving innovation in industries such as enterprise AI, consumer services, fintech, and manufacturing.
In March 2022, the VC company launched its eighth India-focused fund, valued $650 million, which will focus on early, seed, and pre-seed stage firms.
According to Accel, the current fund had participation from 131 unnamed investors, indicating a strong interest in the region's entrepreneurial projects.
Accel's investment approach focuses on founders building enterprise AI solutions that use India's enormous IT services knowledge to provide automation products. Furthermore, the firm intends to promote consumer-oriented businesses, wealth management startups, and manufacturing organizations, demonstrating a multifaceted approach to promoting innovation.
With over 16 years of experience in India and Southeast Asia, Accel has collaborated with startups that have transformed industries ranging from e-commerce and SaaS to manufacturing. The fund has made significant investments in startups across sectors, including Amagi, Acko, BlackBuck, BlueStone, BrowserStack, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company and Zetwerk. The fund promises to be the initial institutional investment in 80% of its portfolio firms.
Recently, the firm obtained a significant return by tendering 10.5 million shares during Swiggy's IPO, resulting in a 3391% return on its initial investment.
In recent years, Accel has launched a number of significant initiatives. SeedToScale, the firm's open-source content and community platform, makes company-building expertise more accessible by providing practical ideas from successful founders, operators, and industry leaders. Accel Atoms, Accel's early-stage scaling initiative, is now in its fourth iteration and has assisted 36 entrepreneurs, raising over $200 million in total.
