After Freshworks success, Accel plans a bigger India fund

When Accel invested $1 million in a fledgling Chennai-based startup focusing on software as a service (SaaS) in 2011, the segment was not considered a fast-growing business. 

In a decade, that cheque for Series A funding proved to be the best bet in India’s venture capital history and is now worth over $800 million. Accel’s pick was Freshworks (née Freshdesk), whose IPO debuted on Nasdaq this September.

Accel’s overall stake of 25% in the company post-listing, including shares held by its global growth funds, is worth over $2.5 billion. This was the first deal by Accel’s third India fund, which had raised $155 million in 2011. The shares held by this fund alone can fetch $1.26 billion.