Bengaluru: Prominent venture capital firm Accel revealed eight Indian early-stage startups on Thursday, March 28 that are part of its third cohort of the "Atoms" accelerator program.

The cohort gains access to benefits valued at over USD 5 Million from Accel's network partners, receives up to USD 500,000 in funding, and has the chance to work with a robust peer community of past cohort and portfolio founder founders. Additionally, the cohort receives individualised mentorship.

Since the program's inception, the 24 startups that were a part of the two prior Atoms cohorts have raised over USD 200 million in funding, the venture capital firm said in a statement.

“We believe we have found the next wave of disruptors in AI and Industry 5.0, and the proof of this has been witnessing the growth of each of these startups since joining the programme. As part of Atoms 3.0, founders are also learning how to build that muscle for resilience and agility,” said Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel.

The four AI startups that are part of Atoms 3.0 are: Tune AI, a GenAI stack for enterprises; Skoob, a generative AI platform for reading; Meritic, a storytelling co-pilot for financial planning and analysis; and Arivihan, India's first AI-based, fully automated learning platform.

The two industry 5.0 startups in this cohort are: Spintly, an IoT platform for smart buildings; and Asets, a multidisciplinary CAD, simulation and engineering design platform. The two remaining startups from the cohort are in stealth mode.

The Atoms programme brings the best of Accel’s network and learnings from working with disruptive companies, to help pre-seed founders during the 0-to-1 journey.

The third edition of the programme, Atoms 3.0, shifted from being sector-agnostic to thematic, focusing on AI and Industry 5.0. Prayank Swaroop and Barath Shankar Subramanian, partners at Accel, lead the AI and Industry 5.0 domains, respectively.

“The zero-to-one journey presents the most formidable challenge for entrepreneurs, as every decision can completely alter the trajectory of your business. Our mission with Atoms is to ensure founders have the best odds at success and can make those mission-critical decisions with insight from the world’s best domain experts. Meetings facilitated via the programme have helped the 3.0 founders onboard new, large customers,” said Barath Shankar Subramanian, Partner at Accel.

Accel has been the first partner to many of India’s most successful startups, including Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company, Zetwerk and Curefit.

Overview of the Atoms Program

Accel Atoms 3.0 is set to invest in startups in their earliest phases, encompassing ideation and pre-product development. Key focus groups that can apply are startups with headquarters in Singapore, Indonesia, India, and the United Arab Emirates, where artificial intelligence is a core component of the product. The program's goal is to provide startup founders with the necessary tools and resources to hasten their path to success. The program will enable founders to be a part of a meaningful and vibrant community and gain access to a reliable network for support and problem-solving, leveraging Accel's experience in company building.

Sources – IANS, The Economic Times, Business Standard