TLDR: European tech investor Prosus and venture capital firm Accel have partnered to co-invest in early-stage Indian deep tech and AI startups through Accel’s expanded Atoms X program. The collaboration aims to provide significant capital and mentorship to ‘LeapTech’ companies, combining engineering ambition with scientific breakthroughs for India’s scale.
In a significant move to bolster India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, European technology investor Prosus has joined forces with US-based venture capital firm Accel. This strategic partnership, announced on October 27, 2025, will see the two powerhouses co-investing in early-stage Indian deep tech and AI startups through Accel’s ‘Atoms X’ program. The initiative is designed to support ‘LeapTech’ companies, which are defined as startups that go beyond traditional deep tech by integrating ambitious engineering with scientific breakthroughs, all while operating at India’s unique scale.
The Atoms X program, an expansion of Accel’s successful Atoms pre-seed scaling initiative launched in 2021, focuses on providing crucial capital and mentorship to nascent ventures. Under this new partnership, Prosus will match Accel’s capital commitments in each Atoms X portfolio startup. This ‘single cheque’ investment approach aims to streamline funding for founders, blending early-stage discipline with the potential for late-stage scale and patient capital.
Investment sizes for seed-stage startups under this program will range between $200,000 and $2 million. Each firm is prepared to invest between $100,000 and $1 million per company, a sum expected to significantly impact these early-stage businesses.
Pratik Agarwal, a partner at Accel, emphasized the current landscape in India, stating, ‘We’re seeing an unprecedented convergence of deep technology and entrepreneurship in India and globally — founders who are not just iterating, but inventing. Together, Accel and Prosus will help them scale faster with the right capital, mentorship, and conviction.’
For Prosus, known for its investments in growth and later-stage companies like Swiggy and Rapido, this partnership marks a strategic expansion into India’s early-stage startup ecosystem. It provides Prosus with increased exposure to innovative companies leveraging artificial intelligence, a sector where the Dutch investment company has already shown growing interest.
Prosus has been actively backing AI startups in India, with notable investments this year including:
Arivihan: In July 2025, Prosus co-led a $4.17 million pre-Series A funding round in this Indore-based edtech startup. Arivihan develops AI-powered, teacher-free mobile learning apps tailored for students in smaller Indian cities and rural areas, offering interactive video lectures, instant doubt-solving, and AI-generated study plans.
CodeKarma: A month later, Prosus co-led a $2.5 million pre-seed round in this Bengaluru-based company, which specializes in creating AI tools to enhance developer productivity.
Deccan AI: In May 2025, Prosus invested an undisclosed amount in this startup, which focuses on generating high-quality datasets for AI model training and evaluation.
These investments highlight Prosus’s evolving thesis on backing Indian AI startups, focusing on specific use cases that demonstrate scalability. The firm is maintaining an open mind towards various AI applications, aiming to shape its investment strategy based on market outcomes.
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Accel’s Atoms program has already supported 40 companies, with over 30% successfully raising follow-on funding. This collaboration with Prosus is poised to further accelerate the growth of groundbreaking Indian startups in advanced manufacturing, energy transition, and AI-driven automation, reinforcing India’s position as a hub for deep tech innovation.
