Google's AI Futures Fund and Accel have announced a partnership to jointly invest in early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) startups in India and among the Indian diaspora. The collaboration, the first of its kind for Google's AI Futures Fund, will see the firms jointly deploy up to $2 million per startup through Accel's Atoms program for its 2026 cohort.
Under the agreement, each firm will contribute up to $1 million per selected startup. The initiative aims to support founders developing AI products from inception, targeting both the Indian market and global applications. Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel, stated the objective is to facilitate the creation of AI products for "billions of Indians, as well as supporting AI products built in India for global markets."
India presents a significant market opportunity, characterized by the world's second-largest internet and smartphone user base and a substantial pool of engineering talent. While the country has historically demonstrated less activity in frontier model development compared to regions like the U.S. and China, recent expansions by major AI firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic establishing offices in India, along with increasing early-stage investment, indicate a shifting landscape. The partnership seeks to leverage India's mobile-first population, expanding cloud infrastructure, and competitive software development costs to translate local talent and demand into original AI research and products.
Beyond capital investment, the selected founders will receive comprehensive support. This includes up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind, alongside early access to Google's AI models, APIs, and experimental features. The program will also offer technical support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, co-development opportunities, monthly mentorship, and immersion sessions in London and the Bay Area, including participation in Google I/O.
Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of the Google AI Futures Fund, emphasized India's significant role in future AI innovation, noting Google's long-standing commitment through multi-billion-dollar investments in the country's digital transformation. He confirmed that Google would hold a "material presence" on the cap tables of funded startups, though specific equity stakes were not disclosed. Silber stated the primary objective of the partnership is to cultivate the next wave of AI innovation emerging from India, rather than focusing on acquisitions or new cloud customer acquisition. The program will not require startups to exclusively utilize Google's AI technologies.
