raises – Doz World Matter

After announcing its $650Mn eighth European fund in May 2024 – Accel, which is a backer for the likes of Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company, ACKO, and more – has now raised $650 million for its latest India-focused fund, as per a securities filing, first reported by The Information. This will be Accel’s eighth fund dedicated to India, following its seventh India-focused fund, which was also $650 million and closed in 2022.

Palo-Alto based Accel – which has been active in India since 2008 – is reportedly planning to allocate a significant portion of this newly raised fund to Indian startups in their pre-IPO rounds. The latest India fund will be deployed to double down on new and existing bets. In addition, non-metro markets could be the preferred target to engage a wider variety of entrepreneurs.

With this latest fund, the early-stage backer of Flipkart and Swiggy has brought its total commitments in India to nearly $3 billion. Meanwhile, earlier in December, Accel’s filing disclosed that it had raised $1.35 billion for its new growth fund, which will focus on investing in established startups.

The timing of this new fund becomes even more interesting as companies that Accel has invested in, like Swiggy and Blackbuck, achieved the milestone of being listed through IPOs last year. Notably, food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy’s ₹11,327 crore initial public offering (IPO) was the second largest in 2024. Not just that, but 5-6 more Indian companies in Accel’s portfolio are gearing up to go public in 2025.

In the meantime, while some major Silicon Valley investors like Sequoia and Matrix have decided to separate their India units, Accel is one that still has not chosen this path. Accel India’s portfolio also includes companies such as BookMyShow, BrowserStack, Freshworks, Spinny, FalconX, Zetwerk, Infra.Market, Moglix and others.

According to Tracxn data, Accel made 17 investments in Indian startups in 2023 and 51 in 2022. In 2024, the firm approximately made as many as 25 investments. Last year, Accel reportedly focused more on sectors like agri-tech, B2B, manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), software as a service (SaaS), and climate tech. Data also shows that Indian startups secured $30.4 billion in funding in 2024, a 6.5% drop from the $32.5 billion raised in 2023. Still, several companies achieved unicorn status last year, including Rapido, Ather, Perfios, Porter, and MoneyView. Quick commerce emerged as a rapidly growing sector with around 40 active companies. The list includes rising names – even in tier 2-3 markets – like Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Dunzo, and more.

Bangalore-based Industrial automation upstart Ati Motors, has now secured a total of $20 million in its latest round of funding. The Series B round was led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital, and included the participation of the firm’s existing investors, including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.

The newest infusion of capital brings Ati Motors’ total funding to over $37 million (to date).

The eight-year-old startup plans to deploy the proceeds from the funding round towards funding its expansion into global markets. Funds will also be deployed towards accelerating the development of its autonomous robotics tech. Currently, the homegrown firm aims to increase the deployment of its robots and scale its operations in North America and the Asia-Pacific region by leveraging the need for industrial automation in these markets. It already has a presence in Mexico, US, India, and South-East Asia.

The newest funding round comes more than a year after Ati Motors has last secured funds – back in 2023, the firm secured $10.85 million in its Series A funding round, led by True Ventures.

“With the growing robot fleet, we are focused on improving their management and orchestration on the software side. Recently, one of the major European truck manufacturers adopted our fleet management software to oversee all robots in its factory. We are now capable of managing multi-vendor robots in our software workflows,” Saurabh Chandra, founder and CEO of the firm, commented on the development.

“Our robots were originally designed to operate in rugged Indian conditions, and this foundation has helped them perform well globally. With this funding, we aim to expand into more markets, including the US and Mexico, and continue to develop next-generation AI models for industrial autonomy,” he added.

The eight-year-old firm, founded by Chandra, V Vinay, and Saad Nasser, currently produces autonomous robotic platforms for industries. Its flagship product is the Sherpa Tug, a robot that can tow factory trolleys, move loads of up to three tonnes, and function effectively both indoors and outdoors. The Sherpa Tug is waterproof and durable, having collectively covered over 500,000 kilometers in industrial environments to date.

In addition to this, the firm also offers a range of autonomous robots. This includes bin movers, pallet movers, and lifting platforms, which are designed to address specific industrial needs, ranging from transporting materials to handling heavy payloads. The robots also come with tech such as LIDAR, AI-powered navigation, and edge computing.

The firm has clocked aggressive growth in recent times, with its order book tripling in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The company currently serves over 40 customers, including 14 Fortune 500 companies, and the likes of Hyundai and Forvia.

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