The programme will target sectors operating in artificial intelligence, e-commerce, financial services, healthcare and edtech as well as ‘Bharat’ focused startups.
Accel said it would invest up to $1 million in selected startups, along with $5 million in incentives.
Applications for Accel Atoms 4.0 open next Monday (September 16) and close on November 17
Multi-stage venture capital firm Accel, which counts Moneyview, Flipkart, Swiggy and Moglix among its unicorn portfolio, has announced the fourth cohort of its flagship pre-seed investment programme Atoms.
The programme will target startups operating in artificial intelligence as well as ‘Bharat’-focused startups working in sectors such as e-commerce, financial services, healthcare and edtech among others.
Accel said it will invest up to $1 million in selected startups, along with $5 million in incentives.
According to the VC, ‘Bharat’ is defined as middle-income households spread across tier II, III and rural India.
Applications for Accel Atoms 4.0 open next Monday (September 16) and close on November 17.
The investment firm also said in its blog post that for the fourth programme, it is targeting innovative founders, who are building scalable and economically feasible solutions tailored to the needs of ‘Bharat’ consumers.
For the uninitiated, the venture capital firm will be launching its ‘Bharat’ cohort for the first time in partnership with SaaS-based consulting startup xto10x. The 12-week programme will be led by Accel Partner Anand Daniel.
Meanwhile, for its AI cohort, Accel is looking to onboard startups founded by Indian founders that leverage AI tools for their business operations. The company is also looking to diversify its AI stack, involving small language models, testing tools, and basic AI models.
It is worth noting that this will be Accel’s second AI cohort led by Accel Partner Prayank Swaroop.
Accel also claims that 70% of its portfolio is made up of founders building their startups in AI.
In March, the venture capital firm eight startups selected, including Spintly, Asets and Tune AI, among others, for Atoms 3.0, its six-month pre-seed acceleration program, is aimed at startups developing in the fields of AI and Industry 5.0.
According to the company, in the first three Accel Atoms cohorts, more than 32 startups have have collectively raised over $200 million from global investors to date.
Yesterday, Accel-backed lending technology startup Moneyview entered the unicorn club after raising INR 38.6 crore (approx. $4.6 million) in an equity funding round, taking the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion.