Accel, Prosus, Vertex Ventures Lead Funding Spree in AI Startups Amid Industry Boom

Accel, Prosus, Stellaris, Vertex Among Key Players in AI-Focused VC Surge

In a strong sign of confidence in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, top-tier venture capital firms—including Accel, Prosus, Stellaris Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures, and Golden Sparrow VC—are actively negotiating or finalizing investments in at least half a dozen AI startups, according to sources familiar with the developments. These aggressive moves reflect the VCs’ strategic push to diversify portfolios and ensure exposure to what is fast becoming the most transformative technology frontier globally.

Accel, a leading global VC firm, is close to finalizing two AI deals. One involves a $4–5 million investment in Vaya, a startup applying AI to astrology services. The second is a similarly sized investment in August AI, a company focused on AI-powered healthcare guidance. Both deals mark Accel’s continued momentum in AI-driven sectors, particularly those blending vertical integration with deep technology.

Highlights:

• Accel to invest $4–5M each in Vaya and August AI.

• Prosus negotiating a $4–5M deal with Arivihan, an Indian AI-led edtech platform.

• Stellaris Venture Partners closing in on a $5M investment in Pivot AI.

• Vertex Ventures preparing a follow-on round for Hakimo AI, focused on remote guarding.

• Golden Sparrow VC finalizing a $400K deal with HostedAI, which manages GPU infrastructure.

Investors Double Down as AI Startups Show Strong Fundamentals and Sectoral Diversification

The rising appetite among venture capital firms reflects the widening scope of AI applications—from healthcare and education to SaaS, security, and infrastructure management. For example, Pivot AI, which is finalizing a deal with Stellaris, is expected to bring robust solutions across data analytics and process automation. Meanwhile, Hakimo AI, already backed by Vertex Ventures, is seeing renewed capital interest amid the growing relevance of AI in surveillance and operational security.

Interestingly, not all AI investments are high-ticket rounds. Golden Sparrow VC’s $400K cheque for HostedAI demonstrates the VC community’s recognition that some AI ventures require lean capital for development and scale, especially when operating in backend infrastructure and enabling services like GPU orchestration.

Highlights:

• Investors increasingly backing niche AI models in astrology, healthcare, learning, and infrastructure.

• Follow-on rounds indicate investor confidence in performance metrics.

• Smaller cheques for early-stage or infrastructure-oriented AI firms reflect capital efficiency.

• VC focus is shifting from broad SaaS exposure to AI-driven operational efficiency.

Broader AI Funding Momentum Continues with Massive New Rounds

The ongoing wave of AI fundraising activity shows no signs of slowing. Since the beginning of 2025, AI startups across India and globally have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in venture funding. This reflects a growing recognition that AI adoption will disrupt nearly every sector, driving significant valuation premiums for early movers.

Among the most prominent recent fundraises:

• Beacon.li, an AI product assistant platform, raised $7M from Sorin Investments.

• MaxIQ, focused on AI for customer journey management, raised $7.8M from Dell and Intel Capital.

• Phot.AI, a photo editing platform, brought in $2.7M from a syndicate led by Info Edge Ventures.

• Harvested Robotics, building AI-powered agricultural tools, secured Rs 5 crore ($600K) from Arali Ventures.

• RapidClaims, a revenue cycle platform for healthcare, raised $8M in a round co-led by Accel and Together Fund.

• Hypergro.ai, a video marketing platform leveraging AI, also raised a fresh round recently.

Globally, the wave is even more pronounced. OpenAI’s record $40 billion fundraise with backing from SoftBank underscores mega-scale investor enthusiasm, while Nexthop AI, a startup building AI networking infrastructure for hyperscalers, raised $110 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Highlights:

• Massive fundraises in AI signal continued investor conviction.

• New entrants are gaining traction in education tech, agri-tech, photo editing, and GPU infrastructure.

• Global megadeals include OpenAI’s $40B round and Nexthop AI’s $110M fundraise.

• VC firms are aligning themselves with platform plays, deeptech AI, and infrastructure layer enablers.