Surge by Peak XV vs Accel Atoms
How Surge by Peak XV and Accel Atoms compare on investment, equity, format, stage and timing. Every figure comes from the programs' own sites, verified November 4, 2026.
| Surge by Peak XV | Accel Atoms | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | $5M | $2M |
| Deal terms | Seed investment of $500K up to $5M per company from Peak XV (ceiling raised from $3M with Surge 12); co-investors welcome. Instrument and equity stake not published. | Atoms AI: up to $2M from Accel (co-invested with Google AI Futures Fund for the 2026 cohort), via equity or convertible note, plus up to $350K in Google Cloud/Gemini compute credits. Atoms X: up to $1M in equity. Ownership percentage not published. Eligibility: raised under $2M, pre-product or pre-revenue, incorporated by selection. |
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, India | Bengaluru, India |
| Stage | idea, pre-seed, seed | idea, pre-seed |
| Sectors | general, ai | general, ai, deep tech |
| Duration | Not published | About 3 months (varies by edition) |
| Application cycle | Rolling applications; cohorts announced about once a year (Surge 11 in September 2025, Surge 12 in September 2026) | Rolling applications, considered for the next themed cohort |
Investment is the full standard package; where part of it is an uncapped SAFE, the equity stake covers only the fixed part (see deal terms). Terms change; confirm on each official site before applying.
About
Surge by Peak XV
Surge is Peak XV Partners' (formerly Sequoia India & Southeast Asia) seed-stage program, launched in 2019, for startups in India, Southeast Asia and beyond. Peak XV invests $500K to $5M of seed capital per company and provides hands-on help with hiring, product, GTM, PR, policy and global expansion. Cohorts are announced roughly once a year; Surge 12 (September 2026) had 18 companies.
Notable alumni: Airalo, Atlan, Multiplier, KhataBook, Relevance AI
About
Accel Atoms
Accel Atoms is Accel's pre-seed program for founders in India and Indian-origin founders anywhere. It runs themed cohorts: Atoms AI (with Google's AI Futures Fund in 2026) invests up to $2M per startup, and Atoms X (with Prosus, for frontier tech) invests up to $1M. Programs typically last about 3 months and are for companies that are pre-product or pre-revenue and have raised under $2M.
Notable alumni: Posha, Zingroll, K-Dense, Dodge AI
Key differences
Surge by Peak XV or Accel Atoms?
- Does Surge by Peak XV or Accel Atoms invest more?
- Surge by Peak XV invests more: $5M against $2M from Accel Atoms.
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