Accel believes its global footprint will help it secure deals.
The VC giant, which has backed Lovable, Synthesia and other current prominent European startups, has raised an enlarged $800m fund to invest in early-stage startups across Europe and Israel as part of an overall $3.5bn raise to invest in early-stage startups globally.
Accel, which has offices in Silicon Valley, London and Bangalore, has raised $3.5bn in new funds in total, which is split across four funds.
These are $1.35bn for a global expansion fund, geared to larger early-stage rounds and follow-on investments; $800m for investing in US startups; $800m targeting European and Israeli investments; and $550m placing bets on Indian startups.
Accel said: “These funds support our early-stage strategies in the US, Europe, Israel, and India, while providing additional capital for larger initial investments and follow-ons.”
The global VC, which has also backed Anthropic and Cursor, set up its team in London over 25 years ago, and its latest dedicated European and Israel fund marks Accel’s ninth fund of its type. It is bigger than its $650m predecessor fund across Europe and Israel.
Accel believes its decision to be one of the first Silicon Valley venture firms to set up a European team has proved well-placed.
Accel, which has backed the likes of Monzo, Trade Republic, Vinted and more recently Lovable, Legora, n8n and Synthesia, is betting that its global footprint will help it win deals.
In a press release, Accel made several references to AI, saying that AI “current transformation is still in its early stage”.
Harry Nelis, partner at Accel, who is based in London, said: “Our focus remains on building relationships and partnering with founders at the earliest stages, helping them turn their initial vision into enduring success stories.
“There has never been a more exciting time to start a company. AI is the most transformative technology we have ever seen, opening up new areas for innovation and compressing the time it takes to go from an idea to a scaled business. We’re looking forward to backing the next generation as they shape what comes next.”