For its eighth India fund, venture capital firm Accel has raised $650 million, or roughly Rs 5,500 crore, matching the size of its seventh round from 2022.
According to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Accel’s overall commitment in India now stands at almost $3 billion.
A portion of the $1.35 billion that the company’s U.S.-based global growth fund completed its most recent round would go toward Indian entrepreneurs, especially those that are still in the pre-IPO phase.
Several of Accel’s well-known Indian portfolio businesses are getting ready to go public at the same time that the new fund launches. Swiggy, a food delivery service, and BlackBuck (Zinka Logistics), a logistics company, recently made their stock market debuts. Accel reportedly received 35 times returns on its investment in Swiggy’s $1.35 billion initial public offering.
Before reducing its ownership to about 6% and completely leaving Flipkart by 2023, the venture capital firm had more than 20% of the company at first. It left with an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion in profits. Among its other successful endeavors are Freshworks, BrowserStack, Urban Company, and Zetwerk.
Zetwerk, Captain Fresh, Urban Company, and other Accel-backed firms have hinted at possible IPOs in 2025, joining the growing number of Indian businesses interested in the stock markets.
Despite uncertainty in the global market, the country’s funding environment remains vibrant, with about 100% quarter-over-quarter growth, according to Accel partner Prashanth Prakash in a recent interview. According to Prakash, the puzzle now seems to be complete, with India’s developing IPO landscape serving as the “final missing piece” in the startup ecosystem.
