Google, Accel Partner to Fund Next Generation of Indian AI Startups

In an unprecedented collaboration for the Google AI Futures Fund, Google has teamed up with Accel to identify and finance India's earliest-stage AI startups. The fund was launched earlier this year.

On Tuesday, Accel and Google revealed a partnership to co-invest up to $2 million in each selected startup via Accel’s Atoms program, with each firm contributing as much as $1 million. The 2026 cohort will concentrate on founders in India and the Indian diaspora who are developing AI-first products from the outset.

“Our vision is to build AI products for billions of people in India, while also backing AI solutions created in India for international markets,” Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel, explained to TechCrunch.

India presents a compelling market, boasting the world’s second-largest internet and smartphone user base after China, alongside a deep pool of engineering talent. Nevertheless, the country has seen limited development of frontier AI models and few companies advancing the technical cutting edge, where innovation remains largely centered in the U.S. and China.

The landscape is beginning to change, however, as leading firms like OpenAI and Anthropic have recently established offices in India, and global investors increase their early-stage commitments. The belief is that India’s vast, mobile-first population, growing cloud infrastructure, and relatively low software expenses could position it as a significant AI market—provided the ecosystem can convert talent and demand into innovative research and products.

Swaroop noted that investments will target a wide range of domains: creativity, entertainment, coding, and workplace solutions. “The future of work here is broader, essentially covering SaaS and all other applications,” he told TechCrunch. “It could even include foundational models.”

Swaroop added that the firms will also seek to pinpoint areas where large language models are expected to progress over the next 12-24 months and identify Indian startups working in those directions.

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Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist

Join the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to secure your spot when Early Bird tickets are released. Previous Disrupt events have featured industry leaders from Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla—part of over 250 experts leading 200+ sessions designed to accelerate your growth and enhance your competitive advantage. You’ll also have the chance to connect with hundreds of startups driving innovation across various sectors.

In addition to funding, founders will receive up to $350,000 in compute credits for Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind, along with early access to Gemini and DeepMind models, APIs, and experimental features. The program includes assistance 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. Founders will also gain marketing support through Accel and Google’s global channels, plus access to the Atoms founder network and Google’s AI builder ecosystem, according to the companies.

“India has a remarkable legacy of innovation, and we are confident that its founders will play a pivotal role in the next wave of AI-driven global technology,” Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of the Google AI Futures Fund, told TechCrunch. “This marks the Futures Fund’s first collaboration of its kind worldwide, and we selected India for a specific reason. Google has long been a dedicated partner in the country’s digital transformation, with multibillion-dollar investments over the years.”

This partnership follows Google’s recent announcement of a $15 billion plan to construct a 1-gigawatt data center and AI hub in India. The company also unveiled a $10 billion digitization fund in 2020, which has supported firms like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Last month, Google collaborated with Reliance to provide millions of Jio users with complimentary access to AI Pro.

Google introduced the AI Futures Fund in May as a dedicated initiative to invest in and partner with AI startups globally. It has backed companies such as Replit and Harvey, and has also made direct investments in Indian startups including Toonsutra and STAN.

Silber informed TechCrunch that Google would hold equity stakes in startups funded through the partnership and would be “a significant presence,” though he did not disclose how its equity share would compare to Accel’s.

“This is our effort to collaborate with the market leader in this space, who has deep expertise in the country, enabling us to engage with earlier-stage founders at a formative phase and make a meaningful impact,” Silber stated.

While using Google products may be expected for applicants to this program, both Silber and Swaroop clarified to TechCrunch that startups would not be required to use Gemini or any other Google product exclusively.

“In some cases, Google’s technology is the best fit. In others, you might see Anthropic or OpenAI being used. So, we aren’t imposing strict mandates that restrict companies to Google’s models only,” Silber explained. “What we aim to do, however, is discover unique integration opportunities with these companies that leverage Google AI technology.”

Launched in 2021, Accel’s pre-seed and seed platform, Atoms, has supported more than 40 companies that have collectively raised over $300 million in subsequent funding. The firm recently expanded the program to include Indian-origin founders based overseas.

This latest collaboration follows shortly after Accel’s partnership with Prosus to co-invest in Atoms X, which supports early-stage Indian founders developing large-scale solutions with the potential to serve mass markets in the country.

Silber told TechCrunch that Google is not structuring the partnership as a route to future acquisitions or even to secure additional cloud customers.

“We are not a sales team, so our goal isn’t to recruit new cloud customers. That’s not our focus,” he said. “In terms of key performance indicators, our aim is simply to witness the next surge of AI innovation emerging from India.”