Sequoia Capital’s accelerator program Surge has shortlisted 23 startups to enter its fifth and the largest cohort of early-stage ventures. Surge and other investors have invested $55 million in this cohort of startups, which were handpicked from India and Southeast Asia.

The launch of this new cohort of startups comes just a few months after Sequoia Capital closed a $195 million seed fund dedicated to making investments in early-stage startups through Surge.

Launched in 2019, Surge offers $1-2 million in pre-Series A funding. So far, 91 startups across 15 sectors have entered Surge’s ‘rapid scale-up program’ in four cohorts while raising a combined total of $172 million in seed funding.

Surge says the unifying theme of its fifth cohort of startups is digital and the many ways in which it can transform how people live, work and learn. Out of the 23 companies, at least 13 of them operate in fintech, payments, communications, logistics and SaaS (Software As A Service) - sectors that are leading as well as leveraging the digital drive in the pandemic era.

“We are incredibly proud of all 23 companies who have joined Surge 05 and the founders who have forged their businesses in sectors that have seen tremendous tailwinds,” said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Surge & Sequoia India.

Out of the other 10 startups, five belong to the lifestyle space and four to edtech. One company still remains in incognito mode.

Now, the selected founders will go through a 16-week virtual mentoring program under Surge. The program ends with the investor week called UpSurge, where the founders get the opportunity to find potential investors and partners. Sequoia Capital says nearly 50 percent of companies from the first three cohorts of Surge have gone on to raise Series A funding.

Here’s a list of India-based startups that have made it to the fifth cohort of Surge’s accelerator program:

Absolute: Founded by Agam Khare and Prateek Rawat, Absolute is plant bioscience and AI-driven platform that helps farmers transform yields and nutritional value of the produce.

ApnaKlub: The agent-led B2B wholesale platform for FMCG products was founded by Shruti and Manish Kumar to assist small entrepreneurs in setting up their own hyper-local, micro-distribution business.

Belora Cosmetics: Founded by Ainara Kaur and Akaljyot Kaur, Belora produces vegan makeup products. The startup wants its products to double up as skincare, not just makeup.

Dyte: A real-time audio and video calling software kit developed by Abhishek Kankani, Kushagra Vaish and Palash Golecha. It allows developers to integrate live video into their apps.

MailModo: An email marketing platform founded by Apurv Gupta, Aquibur Rahman, and Devyesh Tandon. It helps marketers create app-like experiences within emails and increase conversions.

Mesh: Founded by Gaurav Chaubey, Rahul Singh and Saurabh Nangia, Mesh is a people management platform that helps employees manage goals, get timely feedback and grow faster.

Onecode: OneCode is an app that connects companies with sales agents. Founders Manish Shara and Yash Desai want to digitise 50 million sales agents across India.

Powerplay: Founded by Iesh Dixit and Shubham Goyal, Powerplay is a mobile-first, vernacular construction site management app. It aims to digitise the construction industry by connecting project managers and workers for faster delivery of projects in India.

Pankhuri: Pankhuri is a social community platform where women can network, learn and shop online through live streaming, chat, and micro courses. It was founded by Pankhuri Shrivastava.

TWID: That’s What I Do (TWID) is a rewards-based payment network that enables customer reward or loyalty points to be used as a payment instrument. The founders behind the venture are Amit Koshal, Amit Sharma and Rishi Batra.

Vah! Vah!: Founded by Akash Senapaty, Eashwar Subbiah and Shailesh Daxini, Vah Vah! is a live, online vocational training platform that offers professional beauty courses.

Veera Health: Founded by Shashwata Narain and Shobhita Narai, Veera Health is digital therapeutics platform that helps women identify and navigate Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) with therapy, coaching and specialist support.

Some of the startups based out of Southeast Asia include: ADPList, Durianpay, Gumlet, Locad, Multiplier, Rara Delivery, Revery, Vara, Virtual Internships and WATI.