Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI".
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bengaluru, Venture capital firm (VC) Accel has raised a $650 million early-stage fund, the VC announced on Monday.
This will be its eighth fund in India and Southeast Asia.
Sectors in focus for this fund include artificial intelligence, consumer brands, fintech, and manufacturing.
Within these themes, the firm has identified sub-categories to work with. For AI, this includes enterprise AI, service as a software (SaaS), vertical AI. Within fintech, the sights are on wealth management, fintech infrastructure, and digital distribution.
In manufacturing, it is looking at startups catering to global demand for diversified supply chains, IP-driven and value-added manufacturing startups, and those into next generation digital technologies.
Shekhar Kirani, Partner at Accel said, “India’s startup ecosystem is increasingly becoming the driving force behind the nation’s economic progress, with VC-backed companies surpassing $50 billion in public market capitalisation. Indian founders have built resilient and enduring businesses which have been embraced by the public markets. As always, Accel strives to be the first partner to these exceptional entrepreneurs.”
In 16 years of operating in India and Southeast Asia, Accel has made investments in companies such as Amagi, Acko, BlackBuck, BlueStone, BrowserStack, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company, and Zetwerk.