Accel India, the Indian investment wing of US-based venture capital Accel, has selected 10 start-ups as part of its second cohort of the Atoms programme launched in 2020. These start-ups include BRIK, DhiWise, Dpanda, FishLog, DataBrain, GutWellnes Club, Mello, Ripik, Upflowy and Youshd. 

“We have an understanding of what founders need from the very beginning of their journey. Atoms (programme) was created to assist these founders in their journey to build successful companies,” Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel India said in a statement. 

"We have received applications from a varied set of founders, and the sheer diversity of these companies is a testament to their imagination, creativity and acumen," he further added. 

The Atoms programme offers $2,50,000 as the primary capital in the pre-seed rounds to each start-up as ‘uncapped convertible notes.’

Before this, Accel Atoms selected 14 start-ups as part of its first cohort. Through both cohorts, the venture capital till now invested $6 million in 23 start-ups. 

The entire development can be considered a positive move for the Indian start-up drive at this point. Indian start-ups are nowadays struggling to generate funds at a proper valuation. In an attempt to keep companies on the profitability track, these companies have laid off employees as a cost-cutting measure. In this scenario, Accel India’s initiative can boost some oxygen in the ecosystem. 

Since 2008, Accel India has invested in multiple Indian companies including BookMyShow, Browserstack, Flipkart, Freshworks, FalconX, Myntra, Urban Company, Zetwerk and Zenoti.