- Published on August 19, 2024
- In AI Features
Accel’s Prayank Swaroop on Navigating Challenges and Data Moats in Indian AI Startup Investing
“My belief is that India is a great market, and smart founders come and keep on coming, and we'll have enough opportunities to invest in,” said Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel.
Image by Raghavendra Rao
- By Vandana Nair
As pioneers in the startup VC ecosystem, Accel (formerly known as Accel Partners), with over four decades of experience, entered the Indian market in 2008. They placed their initial bets on a nascent e-commerce company poised to compete with Amazon.
In 2008, Accel India invested $800,000 in seed capital into Flipkart, followed by $100 million in subsequent rounds. The VC firm went on to back some of today’s most successful ventures, including AI startups. “We've invested in 27 [AI] companies in the last couple of years, which basically means we believe these 27 companies will be worth five to ten billion dollars [in the future],” said Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel, in an exclusive interaction with AIM.
Swaroop, who joined Accel in 2011, focuses on cybersecurity,
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Vandana Nair
As a rare blend of engineering, MBA, and journalism degree, Vandana Nair brings a unique combination of technical know-how, business acumen, and storytelling skills to the table. Her insatiable curiosity for all things startups, businesses, and AI technologies ensures that there's always a fresh and insightful perspective to her reporting. She now hosts her tech segment 'Point Break' on AIM Tv.
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