888VC

Check you fit before applying

The GRO8 accelerator is not an idea-stage programme. The site asks for a pre-seed or seed-stage startup that already has a product in the market and a clear go-to-market plan.

• Be ready to say how you will sell or raise outside India. Global ambition is one of the four stated criteria.
• The sectors listed are deep tech, AI and ML, consumer, healthtech, sustainability, manufacturing, fintech and SaaS or B2B.
• Founders still validating an idea are better served by an earlier-stage programme elsewhere.

How applications work

The Apply for Next Cohort button on the startup page opens an online application form. The site publishes no intake dates, so a current cohort is not guaranteed. Write to info@888vc.co if you need to ask about timing.

Ask before you commit

The site does not say whether the accelerator charges a fee or takes equity or an investment, and it does not say how participants are selected. Ask these questions in writing before you apply or accept a place.

What the programme is built around

• Four phases over 12 weeks, ending in a Demo Day.
• Sessions with founders and senior operators, and curated one-to-one investor introductions.
• A pitch and investor-ready deck by the end, so arrive with your numbers and a clear story.

Do not confuse it with GRO8 Club

GRO8 Club is the investor community. Founders do not use its Join as Investor form to get funded.

888VC (also written 888vc) is a venture firm based in Whitefield, Bengaluru. Its website describes a cross-border model that links Indian startups with investors in India, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. It runs the GRO8 accelerator for founders, an invite-only investor community called GRO8 Club, and invests in early-stage companies. The site names Network888 Accelerator LLP as the operating entity.

The GRO8 accelerator

The accelerator is 888VC's route for founders who want to raise from outside India. It is a 12-week programme, presented as a journey from MVP to market-ready, and it ends with a Demo Day. The site describes four phases: strategy and validation in weeks one to three, product and sales in weeks four to six, finance and operations in weeks seven to nine, and fundraising and Demo Day in weeks ten to twelve. Along the way founders get one-to-one sessions with experienced founders and senior operators, plus curated introductions to investors in India, the US and the UAE. The site also lists workspace, legal support, accounting and vendor credits under ecosystem access.

The site does not publish intake dates, a deadline, a fee policy or any equity or investment terms for the accelerator. Its application button reads Apply for Next Cohort, and it leads to an online application form.

Who can apply

The site sets four criteria. First, early traction: pre-seed or seed-stage with early market validation, a product in market and a clear go-to-market plan. Second, global ambition: you think beyond India from day one, and cross-border scale is part of your plan. Third, a technology-driven business. Fourth, a long-term mindset. The sectors listed are deep tech, AI and machine learning, consumer, healthtech, sustainability, manufacturing, fintech and SaaS or B2B.

Investing and the GRO8 Club

888VC also invests directly. Its site says it backs companies from seed to Series A and that it stays involved through pivots and later fundraises. Press reports in September 2025 said 888VC had launched a maiden fund, registered with SEBI as a Category I alternative investment fund in February 2025, to back early-stage deep tech startups. The site does not state this registration, and it does not say how the fund relates to the accelerator. The site and the press also give different cheque sizes, and the site does not say whether they describe the same vehicle.

GRO8 Club is for investors, not founders. It is an invite-only community of angels, family offices, funds and senior operators who receive curated pitch decks and due-diligence summaries and can invest through syndicate vehicles, including a dollar-based feeder structure for cross-border deals. Founders do not apply to it for funding.

Track record

These are 888VC's own claims and its sources do not agree. The site says it has invested in more than 50 startups, while reports from September 2025 quoted the firm saying it had funded over 20 companies. The site and the press also give different figures for the combined value of the portfolio. The site says 200 or more investors attended its 2024 Demo Day, and that its network includes more than 200 VC fund partners and more than 1,000 angels, CFOs and CXOs.

The portfolio page names Babai Tiffins, DaanVeda, Datazip, Drivers4me, EcoRatings, GetCrest.ai, HomeCapital, IGoWise, Multipl, Pick My Work, Sanfe and UKHI. These are companies 888VC invested in, not necessarily accelerator participants. The site also says one portfolio company, Finly, was acquired by a US fintech company.

Who runs it

Rohit Bafna is the founder and CEO. His profile on the site says he has more than ten years of venture experience, and press reports say he previously worked at 100Unicorns. The site gives no founding year, and one press report says the firm was founded in 2022.

Contact and location

The site gives its address as Whitefield, Bengaluru 560066, and info@888vc.co as the contact email. The accelerator is offered in India, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.