A large opportunity in the cybersecurity space today is building security tools for generative AI applications, Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel, said.
India has the potential to replicate its software as a service (SaaS) success in the nearly $400-billion global cybersecurity market if founders step up and play the long game, he said at a media round table at the fund’s Cybersecurity Summit.
“There are over 1,400 cybersecurity companies in India, but only 235 are funded, and just 13 have reached Series B. That’s not good enough,” Swaroop said, adding the maturing internal security teams at Indian tech giants like Flipkart and Razorpay are fertile ground for talent. “Just like Flipkart came out of Amazon, the next generation of cybersecurity founders could emerge from in-house security teams,” he said.
Accel has supported 45 cybersecurity startups
Accel, too, has skin in the game. Globally, it has backed over 45 cybersecurity startups, including CrowdStrike, which is now worth over $117 billion. In India, the company has invested in six cybersecurity startups, including Akto, Seezo, Secureden, and Sprinto.
The firm is hosting focused summits in India, bringing together chief information security officers of large corporations, global founders of Indian origin, and local startups to develop an ecosystem in cybersecurity. “Most cyber conferences are too technical and no one talks about scaling a company,” he said.
Growing concern on cybersecurity attacks
Indian regulators and government bodies are also pushing for locally built cybersecurity products, especially in light of increasing attacks and the risks of dependency on foreign tech providers.“There’s a real advantage now. Indian companies want to buy Indian products,” Swaroop noted.
With strong internal demand and a supportive regulatory environment, Swaroop believes the foundation is in place to build a large cybersecurity company from India. But Indian founders need to resist early buyout offers if they want to build large-scale, category-defining companies. While a $20 million exit may be life-changing for the founder, it is not exactly a venture-scale business, he added.
