Accel, Prosus pick six ‘off-the-map’ startups for inaugural India cohort

In a world dominated by recommendation algorithms and quick returns on investment in the SaaS sector, venture capital giants such as Accel and Prosus are choosing to move against the tide. Their latest initiative is not just another acceleration program, but a conscious attempt to develop areas that most funds avoid due to excessively high risk and unclear monetization prospects. The selection of six startups from a pool of over 2,000 applications shows that capital is beginning to seek value where markets are still undefined and success cannot be measured by simple month-on-month growth metrics.

Each of the selected entities will receive funding ranging from USD 500,000 to USD 2 million. These are amounts that, in the "deep tech" world, represent the fuel necessary to survive the most difficult phase of research and development (R&D). The strategy of Accel and Prosus is based on supporting ideas described as "off-the-map" — projects operating on the fringes of the digital economy as we know it, where barriers to entry are extremely high and the product-building process takes years, not months.

Science instead of code: A new investment paradigm

The traditional VC approach often favors solutions that can be scaled quickly with minimal investment in physical infrastructure. The inaugural cohort of Accel and Prosus completely reverses this trend, focusing on science-led themes. The six selected companies focus on sectors such as healthcare, climate, space, and longevity. These are fields where progress depends on laboratory and engineering breakthroughs, rather than just user interface optimization or aggressive marketing.

Investing in startups dealing with longevity or space technologies requires immense patience from funds. Prosus and Accel seem to accept the fact that commercial paths for these technologies are currently uncertain. In the tech industry, this is often called "patient capital," which is essential for fundamental projects to leave the conceptual phase. The choice of such niche yet ambitious directions suggests that investors are looking for the next big wave of innovation beyond the saturated consumer app market.

• Healthcare: Solutions going beyond simple telemedicine, focused on diagnostics and new treatment methods.
• Climate: Technologies aimed at real carbon footprint reduction or energy transformation.
• Space: Orbital engineering and systems that could revolutionize communication or resource extraction.
• Longevity: Research into aging processes and biotechnological attempts to extend healthy human life.

The risk of undefined markets

The biggest challenge for these six startups is not competition, but the lack of an existing market. When Accel speaks of "undefined markets," it refers to a situation where a product is so innovative that regulators, customers, and even the creators themselves do not quite know how to classify it. This is an area of high uncertainty where traditional metrics, such as Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) or Lifetime Value (LTV), lose their relevance because there is no historical data to rely on yet.

For the global startup ecosystem, this is a signal that the giants are ready for "moonshots." In an era of economic slowdown, many funds have retreated to safe havens, financing only companies with a clear path to profitability. The move by Prosus and Accel is therefore a bold declaration: we believe in science and engineering as the main engines of growth in the coming decade. This approach could attract a new wave of talent to the technology sector — scientists and PhD students who previously saw no place for themselves in the world of venture capital.

"We choose projects whose progress is difficult to measure, but whose potential impact on reality is impossible to ignore."

Financial support of up to USD 2 million at an early stage allows these companies to focus on the core of the problem instead of a constant struggle for survival until the next round. In sectors such as climate or space, where prototyping is expensive, such an amount represents the critical minimum to conduct key tests and technology validations.

Building foundations for a new era of technology

Analyzing the composition of this cohort reveals a clear shift in the center of gravity toward deep tech. While recent years belonged to generative artificial intelligence, which operates mainly in the digital sphere, Accel and Prosus are turning their gaze toward the physical and biological foundations of our civilization. This is a pragmatic approach — climate problems or challenges related to an aging society will not be solved by chatbots alone.

The collaboration of two such powerful players on a joint cohort in India also has a strategic dimension. India, traditionally associated with IT services outsourcing and e-commerce successes, is becoming a hub for scientific innovation. Prosus and Accel, by selecting 6 companies from 2,000 applications, performed a drastic selection, suggesting that the quality of projects in these "difficult" sectors is growing at an exponential rate. This is a signal to other emerging markets that investments in science and raw technology can be just as attractive as building another marketplace.

The real test for this initiative will not be whether these startups go public within the next three years, but whether their scientific discoveries find application in the real world. Investors like Accel are playing a long game here — their success depends on whether they can create leaders in industries that today seem like a futuristic dream. If even one of these "off-the-map" projects succeeds, it could redefine the entire technological landscape, pushing the boundaries of what we consider possible to finance through venture capital.