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

Accel and Prosus have selected six startups for their first joint cohort in India, backing what they describe as “off-the-map” ideas — companies working on problems where markets are undefined and progress is difficult to measure.

The inaugural cohort spans healthcare, climate, space, and longevity, reflecting a focus on science-led themes with long development timelines and uncertain commercial pathways. The six startups were selected from more than 2,000 applications.

These are the selected startups:

• Praan is developing air infrastructure systems to improve indoor air quality using purification, sensing, and automated controls. The Mumbai-based startup has previously raised funding from investors including Social Impact Capital, Aera VC, and Avaana Capital, as well as strategic investors and family offices.
• QOSMIC is developing optical communication systems for data transfer between satellites and Earth. The Bengaluru-based startup is working on increasing bandwidth and reducing latency in space-based networks.
• Ethereal Exploration Guild, also known as EtherealX, is developing reusable orbital launch vehicles to lower the cost of accessing space. The Bengaluru-based startup last raised a $20.5 million Series A round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital at an $80.5 million valuation.
• Dognosis is working on detecting multiple cancers from breath, using dogs’ sense of smell along with robotics and AI. Its product, BreatheEasy, involves patients breathing into a mask, with the sample later analyzed in a lab to detect cancer-linked markers.
• Ferra is building a home-based strength-training system to help people maintain mobility as they age. The system adjusts resistance automatically to match a user’s performance.
• A sixth startup, operating in stealth, is developing brain-computer interfaces to enable direct communication between the human brain and external systems.

Announced in October, the program aims to back startups outside the industry’s usual playbook, rather than those that are easiest to fund, the firms said.

As part of the program, Accel and Prosus are co-investing in each startup, with Prosus matching Accel’s investment, and checks ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. The firms are using a structure that reduces early dilution for founders, with a portion of the capital deferred so equity is given up at a later stage.

The firms say the model is designed for startups with long development cycles. “More than capital, they require time to make those breakthroughs,” said Pratik Agarwal (pictured above, left), partner at Accel.

These companies often follow a non-linear path, according to Ashutosh Sharma (pictured above, right), head of India ecosystem at Prosus. Progress depends on achieving key technical breakthroughs rather than steady growth, he said.