Accel has raised $650 million for its eighth India fund as the US venture capital firm expands its investment strategy in the South Asian market.
The new fund follows the company. Seventh India Fund secured by March 2022.. e-commerce group Flipkart; Having backed companies including food delivery platform Swiggy and software group Freshworks, Accel has emerged as India's most successful venture capital firm, serving as the first institutional investor in its portfolio companies.
The company wrote the first institutional check for Flipkart at a $4 million post-valuation, an investment valued at over $36 billion. Partner Anand Daniel led Swiggy's seed round at a pre-emptive valuation of $2 million. Swiggy went public in November The biggest global tech IPO of 2024It is valued at $11.3 billion.
In 2022, The company's top-performing startups were collectively valued at more than $100 billion.
India's startup dynamics have changed a lot since Accel's entry over a decade ago. The main change is the increase in public listings that address previous criticisms. More than half a dozen Accel-backed Indian companies, including manufacturing platform Zetwerk and jeweler Bluestone; A public release is planned for this year.TechCrunch previously reported
“India has become a promising hub for technology IPOs, driven by its strong capital markets and strong innovation ecosystem that continues to attract substantial investor interest,” Daniel (left, above) told TechCrunch in November.
Accel remains one of the few Silicon Valley investors that has not spun off its India unit, while rivals Sequoia and Matrix have cut ties with their respective India funds in recent years.
The company recently. Increased focus on rural India.Businesses that serve affluent consumers in small towns and cities are betting against conventional wisdom about what will lead to sustainable success.