Accel and Prosus Select Six 'Off-the-Map' Deep-Tech Startups for Inaugural India Cohort
Venture capital firms Accel and Prosus have selected six deep-tech startups from over 2,000 applicants for their first joint Atoms cohort in India, focusing on healthcare, climate, space, and longevity sectors.
Key Points
- Six deep-tech startups selected from over 2,000 applicants for Accel-Prosus India cohort
- Investment range of $500,000 to $2 million per startup with co-investment model
- Focus areas include healthcare, climate, space, and longevity sectors
- One Bengaluru startup raised $20.5M Series A at $80.5M valuation
Full Details
Accel and Prosus have unveiled their inaugural India cohort, selecting six 'off-the-map' startups that tackle markets with fuzzy boundaries and hard-to-measure progress. Chosen from more than 2,000 applications, the cohort concentrates on science-led bets across healthcare, climate, space, and longevity—areas where technical breakthroughs, not monthly growth charts, mark real momentum. The firms will co-invest in each startup, with Prosus matching Accel's investment, and checks ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. One Bengaluru-based startup in the cohort recently raised a $20.5 million Series A round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital at an $80.5 million valuation. Accel partner Pratik Agarwal emphasized that time is the critical input for such founders, while Prosus's India ecosystem lead Ashutosh Sharma noted that technical proof points, not linear revenue curves, should anchor decision-making.
Why It Matters
This cohort represents a significant bet on India's deep-tech innovation capabilities, signaling growing confidence in Indian founders tackling long-horizon, high-impact problems. The involvement of talent from ISRO, DRDO, and global deep-tech companies returning to India suggests the country is maturing as a hub for science-led entrepreneurship.
Get stories like this delivered daily
AI-curated news, personalized to your interests. Zero noise.
Start 7-Day Free Trial →More in Technology & Startups
March 2026 Fintech Funding: KAST, Silverflow, and Worth Lead Notable Rounds
March 2026 saw significant fintech funding activity with KAST raising $80M for stablecoin payments, Silverflow securing $40M for payment processing, and Worth raising $30M in Series A funding.
AI Helps Financial Institutions Achieve Best-in-Class Anti-Fraud Balance
i2c's 15+ years of AI and machine learning investment enables real-time fraud detection and decisioning for banks, credit unions, and fintechs, helping smaller institutions access consortium data and advanced fraud models.
Apple Celebrates 50 Years of Innovation Since Founding in 1976
CNET commemorates Apple's 50th anniversary, reflecting on five decades of transformative products from the rainbow Macintosh logo to iPhone dominance and services like Apple TV+ and Apple Fitness+.
ESA Launches First Celeste Satellites to Test Complementary LEO Navigation Layer
The European Space Agency has launched the first two Celeste satellites from New Zealand to demonstrate a complementary low-Earth-orbit navigation layer for Galileo, with the UK as an ESA member state set to benefit from the forthcoming operational PNT constellation.