Venture capital firm Accel is set to raise a $4 billion Leaders Fund to back late-stage startups globally, according to a report by Bloomberg. The firm is also raising an additional $650 million sidecar fund to increase exposure in select portfolio companies, as it doubles down on high-conviction bets. The Leaders Fund will be deployed across growth-stage startups, with artificial intelligence emerging as a key investment theme. Accel has already deployed capital from its Leaders strategy in India, including an investment in Spinny, where it co-led a $160–170 million round alongside Fidelity.

Accel has already deployed capital from its Leaders strategy in India, including an investment in Spinny, where it co-led a $160–170 million round alongside Fidelity.

The move comes as global investors concentrate capital into fewer high-quality companies, with a strong tilt toward AI-led businesses amid a prolonged funding slowdown. Accel’s Leaders Fund typically participates in late-stage rounds of its portfolio companies and select new investments. It helps companies scale ahead of public listings or large exits. This follows Accel’s $650 million early-stage fund for India and Southeast Asia announced in January 2025. The fund targets pre-seed to Series A startups across sectors such as AI, consumer, fintech, and manufacturing.

About Accel

Accel has been founded in 1983 by Arthur Pattersonand Jim Swartz, who established the firm's "prepared mind" investment philosophy. In India, Accel was established in 2006 by founding partners Subrata Mitra, Prashanth Prakash, and Mahendran Balachandran. Accel has been an active early-stage investor in India for over a decade and claims to be the first institutional backer in a majority of its portfolio companies. Its investments in the region include Flipkart, Swiggy, Freshworks, Acko, BlackBuck, BrowserStack, Urban Company, and Zetwerk.