Accel selects 8 startups for third cohort of accelerator programme Atoms

Venture capital firm Accel has chosen eight startups to be part of the third cohort of its accelerator programme Atoms.

Atoms 3.0 is said to be its first sector-focused cohort, built to back pre-seed startups operating in the artificial intelligence (AI) and Industry 5.0 domains.

Industry 5.0 is a broad term used to describe the areas where humans and machines work together.

The AI startups are Tune AI, a generative AI stack for enterprises; Skoob, a generative AI platform for reading; Meritic, a storytelling co-pilot for financial planning and analysis; and Arivihan, India's first AI-based, fully automated learning platform.

Atoms 3.0’s Industry 5.0 startups in the cohort are Spintly, an IoT platform for smart buildings, and Asets, a multidisciplinary CAD, simulation, and engineering design platform.

The other two startups are in stealth mode, Accel said in a statement.

The cohort was launched with a four-day long kickoff programme which included an AI summit, with over 200 AI founders and operators, and an Industry 5.0 customer connect initiative. Atoms 3.0 founders interacted with senior business and tech leaders from companies such as Swiggy, Flipkart, Reliance, Schneider, Aditya Birla Group, and Vedanta.

Accel has so far held more than 100 learning sessions led by experts from companies such as Google, AssemblyAI, and Langchain, mentor connects, and community gatherings across the Atoms cohorts. The 24 Atoms startups from Atoms 1.0 and 2.0 have together raised over $200 million in funding so far, according to the global investor.

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“The shift to a thematic programme design for Atoms 3.0 has enabled us to provide deeper, sector-focused mentorship for the startups. Atoms has always restricted itself to smaller cohort sizes to stay hyper-focused on the needs of a smaller group of exceptional founders. We believe we have found the next wave of disruptors in AI and Industry 5.0, and the proof of this has been witnessing the growth of each of these startups since joining the program,” Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel, said.

“While AI presents an incredible opportunity, the pace of innovation in AI requires founders to have the right mindset for navigating this market. As part of Atoms 3.0, founders are also learning how to build that muscle for resilience and agility,” he added.