Prashanth Prakash joins WTFund as strategic adviser; fund unveils third cohort of under-25 founders

Prashanth Prakash will help shape investment decisions, mentorship structures and focus areas at WTFund.

Accel India founding partner Prashanth Prakash has joined WTFund as a strategic adviser, as the youth-focused investment platform rolls out its first formal programme for founders under 25.

Prakash will help shape investment decisions, mentorship structures and sectoral focus areas across deeptech, consumer products, advanced manufacturing and B2B value chains, the firm said.

Prakash, a Padma Shri and one of the earliest institutional backers of several Indian unicorns, has been a central figure in the development of India’s venture ecosystem.

WTFund said his appointment strengthens its effort to identify and support promising founders far earlier than traditional venture capital typically does.

WTFund — an early-stage initiative backed by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath that offers grants, mentorship and ecosystem access to very young founders — positioned the move as part of a broader plan to expand India’s early innovation pipeline while reducing dilution pressure at the seed stage.

Alongside the appointment, the fund announced C1/25, its third cohort of startups this year, selected from a competitive applicant pool.

WTFund said the cohort reflects its focus on applied innovation from very young founders. The selected startups span AI, healthcare, hardware and security, with companies such as Aeyi, BloomRehab and O3 Security working on use-cases ranging from visual-perception systems and robotic rehab tools to software-supply-chain security.

Hardware manufacturing is represented by Placestation, while workflow automation and payments infrastructure feature through startups such as Antimattr and Prava.

The mix underscores its intent to back products with clear deployment potential rather than early-stage prototypes, the fund said.

Each company will receive mentorship, structured industry access and support to sharpen product and go-to-market strategies.

The fund is also launching WTFund Bootcamp, a programme that connects founders with operators, investors and domain experts for hands-on guidance.

It would continue to widen its sourcing efforts for younger founders while evaluating sectors such as healthtech, energy transition, AI and spacetech for future cohorts, WTFund said.