Post ContentThe startup accelerator programme kicked off in Bengaluru on March 11. (Image: Accel)
Five AI startups have been selected to be a part of the inaugural cohort under the joint AI accelerator programme by Google and venture firm Accel.
Announced in November last year, the AI-focused Atoms programme, in partnership with Google’s AI Futures Fund (AIFF), aims to support early-stage startups building AI solutions for India and other markets.
The Atoms AI Cohort for 2026 saw more than 4,000 applicants, with the selected startups focused on building AI solutions across enterprise systems, voice automation, entertainment, scientific research, and industrial automation.
As part of the programme, each startup will receive up to $2 million in co-investment, jointly funded by Accel and Google’s AI Futures Fund, along with up to $350,000 in compute credits across Google Cloud, Gemini, and Google DeepMind resources.
While the programme, which kicked off in Bengaluru on March 11, was expected to support founders in India and Indian diaspora building AI solutions, the new 2026 cohort has teams spanning Singapore and Silicon Valley.
With its deep engineering talent and the world’s second-largest internet and smartphone base after China, India is a key player in the global startup ecosystem. While frontier AI development remains concentrated in the US and China, India is also experiencing a major shift as AI giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic have set up new offices in the country since the start of the year. India’s expanding cloud infrastructure and relatively low software costs could also position it as a key player in the AI race as long as talent and demand are translated into original research and products.
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“The AI Cohort 2026 represents a diverse group of founders tackling significant “white spaces” in the industry, from scientific research to enterprise operations […] Together, these companies represent the next wave of AI innovation emerging from India and the global founder ecosystem, where AI is increasingly becoming a core layer of scientific, enterprise, and industrial infrastructure,” Accel said in a blog post on Monday, March 16.
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Here are the startups selected to be part of the Atoms AI Cohort for 2026.
K-Dense
Founded by Timothy Kassis and David Zhang, K-Dense is looking to develop an AI co-scientist that can help researchers overcome bottlenecks and accelerate discovery across life sciences, physics, and chemistry. The AI co-scientist will be designed with scientific reasoning capabilities. K-Dense’ open AI tools are already seeing wide adoption within the research community, Accel said.
Dodge AI
Led by Rebhav Bharadwaj and Aditya Thakur, Dodge AI is working on autonomous AI agents focused on the maintenance of SAP systems and modernisation of large-scale ERP environments which experience friction. By using specialised agents to manage system upkeep, Dodge AI is looking to help companies maintain their most critical business data with less manual intervention.
Persistence Labs
Founded by Utkarsh Marwaha, Persistence Labs is building high-fidelity voice AI agents catered to large-scale call centre operations. The startup’s voice AI products could help manage complex enterprise communications with a level of nuance that traditional chatbots lack, helping companies scale their support more effectively.
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Zingroll
Founded by Harshit Yadav, Zingroll is a streaming platform for AI-generated movies and shows. It uses an “intelligent discovery system” to help viewers find high-quality AI-generated content.
LevelPlane
Led by Vineeth Rajagopal and Suri Chawla, LevelPlane is focused on developing industrial automation solutions in the automotive and aerospace manufacturing sectors. Its products look to simplify how industrial companies source parts by using AI to interpret complex technical drawings and automate sourcing decisions.
The programme will include support from Google Labs and DeepMind research teams, co-development opportunities, and monthly mentorship with Accel partners and Google technical leads, Founders will also get marketing support through Accel and Google’s global channels, as well as access to the Atoms founder network and Google’s AI builder ecosystem, the companies said.
It will conclude in June with a visit to Mountain View, California, where the founders will get hands-on guidance from AI leaders and the broader investor community.
