# Accel

> Accel is a venture capital firm founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz. It invests in technology businesses from seed through growth and late stages, combining capital with board support, recruiting connections and market expertise. Its portfolio includes Facebook, Slack and Atlassian; its investment teams span the US, Europe and India.

- **Founded:** 1983
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Founders:** Arthur Patterson (Co-founder; emeritus), Jim Swartz (Co-founder; emeritus)
- **Products:** Early-stage venture investing, Growth and late-stage investing, Accel Atoms, Atoms AI Cohort 2026, Portfolio talent access
- **Notable:** Backed Facebook at Series A in 2005., Began backing the company that became Slack at seed in 2009., Invested $60 million for a minority position in Atlassian in 2010.

## Products & services

- **Early-stage venture investing** — Seed and early-stage equity investment, supported by sector research and partnerships with founders.
- **Growth and late-stage investing** — Capital and continued support for scaling private technology companies.
- **Accel Atoms** — An equity-backed pre-seed and seed program offering capital, mentorship and company-building support.
- **Atoms AI Cohort 2026** — Program with Google’s AI Futures Fund offering selected startups up to $2 million in co-investment and up to $350,000 in compute credits, plus technical support.
- **Portfolio talent access** — Public job board connecting applicants with roles at portfolio companies.

## Achievements

- Backed Facebook at Series A in 2005.
- Began backing the company that became Slack at seed in 2009.
- Invested $60 million for a minority position in Atlassian in 2010.
- Led Tenable’s $50 million first outside investment in 2012.
- Reported a global portfolio of more than 800 companies in April 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Published an account of Zetwerk’s IPO on October 23, describing Accel’s support since 2018 and a $1 million investment during its 2020 crisis.
- **2026-08** — Announced $3.5 billion across four vehicles supporting early-stage strategies and follow-on investments.
- **2026-04** — Announced $5 billion in late-stage capital and reported more than 800 companies in its global portfolio.
- **2025-11** — Announced the Google AI Futures Fund partnership for Atoms AI Cohort 2026.
- **2025-07** — Led Lovable’s $200 million Series A round; that figure is the round size, not a disclosed Accel-only check.

## Links

- Website: https://www.accel.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accel-vc/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/accel
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AccelVC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accel

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/accel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25