Accel (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Arthur Patterson, Jim Swartz |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California , United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Jim Breyer |
| Products | Investment capital (enterprise, SaaS, consumer sectors at seed, early, expansion stages) |
Accel, initially known as Accel Partners, operates as an international venture capital organization with locations in Palo Alto, California, San Francisco, California, London, and India. The firm gained recognition for its $12.7 million stake acquired in Facebook during May 2005, obtaining 10% ownership prior to Facebook generating any revenue.
Accel provides investment capital globally, focusing on enterprise, SaaS, and consumer sectors at seed, early, and expansion phases.
History
Established in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz, Accel adopts an investment strategy centered on the concept of a "prepared mind," inspired by Louis Pasteur's saying "chance favors the prepared mind," which highlights the importance of methodical and concentrated investing.
In 2000, Accel collaborated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to create Accel-KKR, a private equity firm specializing in technology that targets controlling stakes in middle-market enterprises. That same year, it also initiated IDG-Accel alongside IDG Capital to focus on early-stage and growth opportunities in China.
Under the guidance of Jim Breyer, Accel's 2005 investment in Facebook evolved into one of the venture capital industry's most lucrative transactions, reaching a valuation of $6.6 billion at Facebook's 2012 initial public offering.
Investments and fundraises
In December 2019, Accel completed fundraising of $550 million for its sixth India-specific investment vehicle.
By May 2024, the firm had secured $650 million dedicated to early-stage ventures in Europe and Israel, with a strategic focus on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This fundraise was supported by Accel's London branch, which was established in 2000.
In January 2025, Accel introduced its eighth India-focused fund, amassing $650 million aimed at early-stage startups throughout India and Southeast Asia.
| Year | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2020s | Bumble, Klaviyo, Linear, Synthesia, H Company, Vercel, Tailscale, Recurly, Laravel, Perplexity |
| 2010s | 1Password, Atlassian, CrowdStrike, Deliveroo, Docusign, Dropcam, Fiverr, Frame.io, Freshworks, Jet.com, Lynda, Miro, Qualtrics, Scale AI, Spotify, Supercell, Squarespace, Swiggy, Tenable, UiPath, Venmo |
| 2000s | Cloudera, Dropbox, Facebook, Flipkart (acquired by Walmart), Groupon, Slack, Kayak |
| 1980s-1990s | MetroPCS, UUNet, Polycom, RealNetworks |