Accel's Akhilesh Agarwal passes away; startup ecosystem pays tribute

The Indian startup ecosystem is mourning the loss of deeptech investor Akhilesh Agarwal, a member of leading venture capital firm Accel, with founders and investors paying tribute to his contributions. Akhilesh was part of Accel’s Atom programme and joined the firm in 2025 where he focused on backing pre-seed and seed-stage startups building 'LeapTech' ventures. Prior to joining Accel, he served as the Assistant Vice President (AVP) at Blume Ventures and pi Ventures.