Prashanth Prakash

Founding Partner, Accel Partners India

Prashanth Prakash has been at the heart of the start-up ecosystem since its very inception. He  is a founding partner of a venture capital firm Accel Partners in India.

A trailblazer from the outset, he founded Visual Reality – one of India’s first animation companies  in 1995. He co-founded NetKraft in 1997 successfully positioning it as a leading offshore solutions  provider specializing in the retail and healthcare verticals.

Since 2004, Prashanth has been a pivotal figure in the venture capital landscape, contributing  significantly to the evolution of Karnataka’s and India’s startup ecosystem. A pioneer in the field,  he co-founded Erasmic Ventures in 2004, an early seed fund that invested in technology startups.  Erasmic Ventures later morphed into Accel India, one of the earliest global venture funds to  enter India. Prashanth has played a foundational role in shaping some of India’s most successful  and category-defining startups, including Flipkart, Ola, Freshworks, Bookmyshow, and Swiggy,  among others.

His primary focus spans across digital-first consumer brands, B2B, Agritech, and SaaS. Prashanth  has spearheaded investments in over 35+ Indian technology startups and serves as a Board  member for more than 30 companies.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from Bangalore University,  followed by a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Delaware, USA.  Additionally, he has earned a Doctorate from the University of Mysore.