Venture Capital firm Accel, on Tuesday, announced applications for its Artificial Intelligence and Industry cohort under its accelerator programme Atom 3.0. The AI and Industry 5.0 cohort seeks applications from startups in India, Southeast Asia and the UAE. The accelerator program offers pre-seed and seed-stage startups access to funding, personalized mentorship, and industry-specific guidance from top operators and founders.
Since its launch in August 2021, Atoms has invested in 24 startups across two cohorts. The startups have since raised a total of more than $160 million in funding.
The programme will involve a series of workshops, mentorship sessions, and networking events for startups to validate their ideas, build teams, and raise capital. Selected cohort companies will benefit from up to $500K in investment, access to Accel’s mentorship network, workshops on AI and Industry 5.0 best practices, community events with other AI and Industry 5.0 startups, meet-ups with potential customers, investors and Accel portfolio companies, perks from Atoms partners like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, and webinars, on-ground events, AMA sessions with industry experts
The applications will close by September 10 for AI-based startups, and by September 23 for Industry 5.0. The cohorts will commence from September 20 for AI, and by September 30 for Industry 5.0 startups. Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel, will lead the artificial intelligence cohort, while Barath Shankar Subramanian, Partner at Accel, will spearhead Industry 5.0 cohort.
The Atoms 3.0 program, said Accel, is a revamped project that will connect the early-stage founders to collaborate, interact, and exchange ideas with a more sector-specific approach.
“Zero-to-one is the most challenging journey for any entrepreneur, as it sets the foundation for the business. Our goal is to work with founders to develop the core DNA that makes a company exceptional,” said Swaroop.
Accel has been operating in India since 2008 and has invested in companies such as BookMyShow, Flipkart, Freshworks, Infra.Market, Chargebee, Clevertap, Cure Fit, Musigma, Myntra, Moglix, Ninjacart, Swiggy, Urban Company, and more.