Accel
About Accel
Accel was founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz and was formerly known as Accel Partners. The firm is headquartered in Palo Alto and also has offices in San Francisco, London, Bangalore and Israel. Its stated approach, a "prepared mind" philosophy, centers on deep sector research before it invests. Public estimates put headcount at about 300 as of 2024. Anand Daniel, a partner who joined the firm in 2010, is listed as a program leader for Accel Atoms, the firm's early-stage founder program, and his focus includes AI.
In April 2026 Accel said it had raised $5 billion for late-stage companies building AI: a $4 billion Leaders Fund V and a $650 million sidecar. The Leaders Fund is expected to make 20 to 25 investments. Accel and Google are co-investing in early-stage founders building frontier AI companies through Accel Atoms and Google's AI Futures Fund, starting with a 2026 AI cohort. Accel also led the Series C in n8n, an AI-native workflow automation platform.
Accel Atoms invests up to $1 million per company as equity or a convertible note. Accel says the Leaders Fund V will write checks averaging $200 million in late-stage rounds. A third-party profile lists seed, Series A and Series B+ as stages, with check sizes from $1 million to $70 million. Lounge's deals desk shows AI rounds from pre-seed through Series E, with Accel leading many seed rounds.
- Cognition: Series E of $2B, led by Accel (2026-09)
- Modal: Series D of $750M, led by Accel (2026-10)
- Cyera: Series G of $600M (2026-06)
- Supabase: Series F of $500M (2026-07)
- Legora: Series E of $550M (2026-10)
- Armadin: Series B of $255.5M, led by Accel (2026-09)
- Higgsfield: Series A of $180M (2026-01)
- n8n: Series C, led by Accel; AI-native workflow automation platform
- Scuba: Seed of $34M, led by Accel (2026-10)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accel_(company))
- atoms.accel.com/ai
- accel.com/news/google-joins-accel-to-turbocharge-ai-founders-with-atom
- accel.com/noteworthies/our-investment-in-n8n-the-ai-platform-for-autom
- techcrunch.com/2026/04/15/accel-raises-5b-to-back-late-stage-bets
- thenextweb.com/news/accel-5-billion-fund-ai-anthropic-cursor-venture-c
- vcsheet.com/fund/accel
- everythingstartups.com/vc-funds/accel
Investing activity
Accel appears in 42 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $6.01B, and led 25 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, Series B and Series E, with a median round size of $20M and the largest at $2B. The most recent are Simplismart (Series B, $14M, Oct 2026), Legora (Series E, $550M, Oct 2026) and Arda (Venture round, $230M, Oct 2026).
Accel most often invests alongside General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and Conviction, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI, AI inference infrastructure and Legal AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Accel
When was Accel founded and who started it?
Accel was founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz. It was formerly called Accel Partners and is headquartered in Palo Alto.
How much money does Accel have for AI investing?
Accel announced $5 billion in new capital for late-stage AI companies in April 2026, made up of a $4 billion Leaders Fund V and a $650 million sidecar.
Does Accel invest in seed-stage AI startups?
Yes. Lounge's deals desk lists several AI seed rounds led by Accel, and Accel Atoms invests up to $1 million per company at the earliest stage.
What check size does Accel write for AI companies?
Accel has said its Leaders Fund V will average $200 million per late-stage investment. Early-stage check sizes are not fully public, and Accel Atoms invests up to $1 million.
Does Accel run an AI program for founders?
Yes. Accel Atoms, with Google's AI Futures Fund, launched a 2026 AI cohort that co-invests in early-stage founders building frontier AI companies.
What AI companies has Accel invested in?
Accel's AI investments include Simplismart, Legora, Arda, RapidCanvas, Origin, Scuba, Modal and Sabi. The 42 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Accel based?
Accel is based in Palo Alto, US.
What stage does Accel invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Accel has invested at Seed, Series B, Series E and Growth, with a median round of $20M. Accel led 25 of those rounds.
Who does Accel co-invest with?
Accel's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are General Catalyst (5 deals), Andreessen Horowitz (5 deals), Y Combinator (5 deals), Conviction (4 deals) and Nvidia (3 deals).
How can founders reach Accel?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Accel's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Accel to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.