Accel, a venture capital firm, is collaborating with Google’s AI Futures Fund to introduce Atoms AI Cohort 2026, designed to support early-stage Indian AI startups through substantial technical and financial assistance.

As part of the initiative, Accel and Google will jointly invest a maximum of $2 million in every chosen company, contributing $1 million each, representing one of the largest early-stage AI investments in the nation.

The initiative will provide $350,000 in compute credits for Google Cloud, Gemini, and DeepMind, as well as priority access to the newest Gemini and DeepMind models. Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of Google AI Futures Fund, stated that startups will receive direct co-development assistance from Google DeepMind's researchers, engineers, and product managers, along with Accel’s mentoring network.

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“This is a mix of capital and compute, including direct technical support from some of the best minds at Google DeepMind as well as the best business minds at Accel. We think this is really an essential formula for building a world-class AI company,” says Jonathan.

“Beyond funding, the program offers co-marketing and global visibility through Google and Accel’s networks, giving startups a global platform from day one. However, both parties noted that founders will have complete flexibility in model choice and can build using Gemini or any other models that best suit their use cases,” adds Jonathan.

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“The new cohort aims to back AI innovation for billions of Indians, while helping Indian founders build globally competitive products. We’ve gone from multi-industry cohorts to industry-specific cohorts such as Industry 5.0 and AI. This one is about helping and surfacing Indian innovation for Indians, how billions can be impacted by AI as well as innovation from India for the world,” says Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel.

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“We firmly believe India’s founders will play a leading role in defining the next era of global technology. This partnership allows us to back the country’s most promising AI talent and fuel the next wave of innovation from India for the rest of the world,” Jonathan says.