Accel and Google have teamed up to launch the 2026 AI Cohort under Accel’s Atoms program. Their main goal is to support new AI startups in India by co-investing up to $2 million in early-stage companies.
This partnership is supported by the Google AI Futures Fund, which focuses on helping innovative AI founders. It will also support Indian-origin entrepreneurs who are building solutions not just for India, but for global markets as well.
Startups selected for the cohort will receive funding, access to Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind technologies, and valuable mentorship. This will help them build stronger products and scale faster.
Prayank Swaroop and Shekhar Kirani, Partners at Accel, said in a joint statement, “AI enables borderless thinking and thus leads to global scale without constraints. For over a decade, Accel has been the first partner for many of India’s most ambitious founders. With Google, we’re creating a ready stack of resources to help Indian founders build and scale globally from day one. We’re helping remove the barriers that have traditionally limited early-stage AI builders and creating a launchpad for category-defining companies.”
Jonathan Silber, Co-founder and Director of AIFF, said: “At the AI Futures Fund, we believe India’s founders will play a leading role in defining the next era of global technology. By increasing our investment in the region through this new cohort with Accel, we are helping this next wave of innovation be built responsibly on Google’s most advanced AI models.”
The Atoms program has been active for four years. It began by supporting many types of startups, but now it focuses only on AI companies. So far, it has helped 40 startups, and together they have raised more than $300 million in follow-on funding.
This new partnership builds on Accel’s recent collaboration with Prosus to co-invest in Atoms X, a program aimed at founders building LeapTech startups. With these combined efforts, India’s early-stage startup ecosystem is entering a new phase where global investment and advanced technology work together to help founders grow faster.
In addition to funding, founders will receive up to $350,000 in compute credits on Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind. They will also get early access to new Gemini and DeepMind models, APIs, and experimental tools, giving them a strong technical advantage while building their products.
The program also includes direct support from Google Labs and DeepMind teams, co-development opportunities, and monthly mentorship sessions with Accel partners and Google technical experts. Founders will even get immersion visits to London and the Bay Area, including attending Google I/O, offering rare exposure to global tech ecosystems.
Accel said founders will also get marketing support through Accel and Google’s global platforms, plus exclusive access to the Atoms founder community and Google’s AI builder network. They’ll be free to choose the models they want to use—whether Gemini or any other option that suits their needs.
Read more- MineOS App Acquired by McAfee in Deal Worth Tens of Millions
