Accel launches US$650m venture capital fund aimed at South-east Asia, India

VENTURE capital firm Accel has launched a US$650 million fund to invest into startups in South-east Asia and India.

This is the 7th fund the venture capital firm has raised, taking the total fund commitments to over US$2 billion. The fund is also the largest one raised by Accel so far, with the 6th having raised US$550 million.

Accel's major exits in Asia have been in mostly Indian startups such as e-commerce marketplace Flipkart and software consultancy Freshworks.

Accel does not allocate funds by region or sector; instead it does so on the basis of whether the startup fits within its core strategy. The venture capital firm is an early-stage investor targeting seed, pre-Series A and Series A stage companies.

In 87 per cent of Accel's investments, it is the first institutional investor, with 95 per cent of its investments in the seed or Series A stage.

The themes that Accel is focused on are next generation e-commerce, emerging software-as-a-service, consumer fintech, global business-to-business marketplaces, digital health, Web 3.0 and South-east Asia.

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Prashanth Prakash, a partner in the company, said: "Since Accel's early days, our investment approach has been grounded in the 'prepared mind'. We study a particular technology shift, develop a thesis, and when we come across a startup that is poised to succeed, we are prepared to partner quickly."

In South-east Asia, Accel's portfolio includes Indonesian investment app Pluang, payment gateway Xendit and non-fungible token based video game, Axie Infinity among others. The venture capital firm is hoping to ride on the potential of South-east Asia, which minted 25 unicorns last year - more than the 21 which emerged between 2013 and 2020.

Prayank Swaroop, another partner, said: "We believe our insights from the Indian market and the global Accel platform can help startups in the region from seed to scale. We have already been making a number of investments in the region, and this announcement is a call to all startups and investors to partner with us."

Read more:

• Indonesian q-commerce startup bags US$27m from Sequoia, Accel

• Indonesia's retail investor boom sends Pluang into another US$55m round, led by Accel