Google, in collaboration with Accel, has launched a special initiative to find and fund early-stage AI startups in India. According to available information, this partnership has been done under Google’s AI Futures Fund, which was launched this year and now its first major collaboration has been seen in India.
Let us tell you that Excel and Google have announced that they will together invest up to $ 2 million in each selected startup through Excel’s Atoms program, in which both the companies will give $ 1 million each. This move is specifically for the 2026 cohort, with an emphasis on promoting India and Indian-origin AI founders who are building AI-based products from scratch.
It is noteworthy that India is the second largest internet and smartphone market in the world and there is no dearth of engineering talent here. Despite this, India’s hold in frontier model development is not yet considered that strong. However, the environment seems to be changing in recent months with big companies like OpenAI and Anthropic opening offices in India and increasing interest from global investors.
According to the information available, this program will include startups working in areas like creativity, entertainment, coding, workflow and even foundational models. According to Accel Partner Prayank Swarup, Indian startups will be selected keeping in mind the areas where large AI models are going to grow rapidly in the coming 12 to 24 months.
Startups will not only receive capital, but will also be given up to $3.5 lakh in compute credits for Google Cloud, Gemini and DeepMind, support from research teams, early access, co-development opportunities, mentorship, immersion sessions in London and the Bay Area, and global marketing support. Additionally, access to Excel’s Atoms Founder Network and Google’s AI Builder ecosystem will also be provided.
Jonathan Silber, co-founder of Google AI Futures Fund, has said that India has always been a center of innovation and in the coming times, founders here can take global leadership in AI-based technology. He also said that this is the world’s first such collaboration of the fund that has been launched in India, and this is due to the rapid pace of digital transformation in India and Google’s long-standing commitment.
Let us tell you that recently Google had announced a $15 billion plan to set up a 1 gigawatt data center and AI hub in India. Besides, investments were also made in companies like Jio, Airtel and Flipkart through the $10 billion digitization fund launched in 2020.
According to the company, the purpose of this partnership is not to provide startups with an avenue for future acquisitions, but to support the next AI innovation wave emerging from India. Startups are not forced to use Google’s technology, rather companies are given the freedom to choose their direction independently.
The current situation clearly shows that the AI startup ecosystem in India is growing rapidly and this joint initiative of Google-Excel is going to further strengthen the technological future of the country in the coming years, due to which young founders are going to be of great help in making their mark on the global platform.
