Google teams up with Accel to hunt for India’s next AI breakouts

Google and Accel Join Forces to Discover India's Next AI Breakouts

In a groundbreaking collaboration, Google has partnered with Accel to find and fund India's earliest-stage AI startups through the Google AI Futures Fund. This partnership, announced on Tuesday, aims to invest up to $2 million in each startup through Accel's Atoms program, with both firms contributing up to $1 million.

The Indian AI Market: A Growing Opportunity

India is an attractive market with the world's second-largest internet and smartphone base after China. However, it has historically lacked frontier model development and hasn't produced many companies pushing the technical frontier of AI. The development of AI remains concentrated in the U.S. and China.

Shifting Activity in India

Activity is starting to shift, however, as major firms including OpenAI and Anthropic have recently announced offices in the country. Global investors are also stepping up early-stage commitments. The bet is that a large, mobile-first population, expanding cloud infrastructure, and relatively low software costs could turn India into a meaningful AI market.

The Future of Work in India

According to Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel, the future of work in India is more encompassing, which includes SaaS, and all other applications. The firms will also try to identify areas where large language models are likely to advance over the next 12-24 months and look for Indian startups building in those directions.

The Partnership's Key Components

Alongside capital, founders will receive up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind. They will also get early access to Gemini and DeepMind models, APIs, and experimental features. The program will include support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, co-development opportunities, monthly mentorship with Accel partners and Google technical leads, and immersion sessions in London and the Bay Area, including Google I/O.

Google's Commitment to India

Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of the Google AI Futures Fund, said, "India has an incredible history of innovation, and we firmly believe that its founders are going to be playing a leading role in the next generation of AI-led global technology." This partnership follows Google's recent $15 billion plan to build a 1-gigawatt data center and AI hub in India.

Accel's Atoms Program

Launched in 2021, Accel's pre-seed and seed platform, Atoms, has backed more than 40 companies that have collectively raised over $300 million in follow-on funding. The firm expanded the program this year to include Indian-origin founders based overseas.

No Requirements for Exclusive Use of Google Products

According to Silber, there would be no requirements for startups to exclusively use Gemini or any other Google product. "Sometimes, Google's technology is the best. Other times, you'll see Anthropic or OpenAI. So, we're not putting firm requirements that say you can only use Google's models," he said.

The Partnership's Objectives

Silber told TechCrunch that Google is not structuring the partnership as a pathway to future acquisitions, or even future cloud customers. "We're not a sales team, so we're not specifically looking to sign up new cloud customers. That's not our goal," he said. "In terms of KPIs, our objective is simply to see the next wave of innovation in the AI space coming out of India."

Key Takeaways

• Google and Accel have partnered to find and fund India's earliest-stage AI startups through the Google AI Futures Fund.
• The partnership aims to invest up to $2 million in each startup through Accel's Atoms program.
• The partnership focuses on areas where large language models are likely to advance over the next 12-24 months.
• Founders will receive up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind.
• The program includes support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, co-development opportunities, monthly mentorship, and immersion sessions.

Code Blocks

import numpy as np

# Define a function to calculate the mean of an array
def calculate_mean(array):
    return np.mean(array)

# Define a function to calculate the standard deviation of an array
def calculate_std_dev(array):
    return np.std(array)

// Define a function to calculate the mean of an array
function calculateMean(array) {
    return array.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / array.length;
}

// Define a function to calculate the standard deviation of an array
function calculateStdDev(array) {
    const mean = calculateMean(array);
    return Math.sqrt(array.reduce((a, b) => a + Math.pow(b - mean, 2), 0) / array.length);
}

Topics

• Accel
• AI
• Google
• Google AI Futures Fund
• India
• Startups
• Venture

Author

Jagmeet Singh

Reporter

Jagmeet covers startups, tech policy-related updates, and all other major tech-centric developments from India for TechCrunch. He previously worked as a principal correspondent at NDTV.

You can contact or verify outreach from Jagmeet by emailing [email protected].

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/24/google-teams-up-with-accel-to-hunt-for-indias-next-ai-breakouts/