Info Edge Scores 36% Returns On Startup Investments

Naukri parent Info Edge has made 9X growth on startup investments with an estimated gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 36%.

In a letter to its shareholders, Info Edge disclosed that it has invested a total capital of INR 3,959.16 Cr via its platform and other LPs. This investment today stands at the Fair Market Value (FMV) of INR 36,855.40 Cr.

“Our team has seen more than one seed to IPO journeys. Their north star remains strong governance and financial controls as much as strong financial returns. The latter is never chased in compromise of the former,” said Info Edge cofounder Sanjeev Bikhchadani.

Notably, Info Edge is one of the early backers in homegrown listed companies, including Zomato and Policybazaar. The internet company invested a total of INR 483.78 Cr and INR 591.40 Cr in both the companies, respectively.

Info Edge claims that the value of its shareholding in both the companies is collectively more than INR 31,500 Cr. Zomato and Policybazaar’s combined market capitalisation stands at more than INR 2.5 Lakh Cr.

After solidifying its investments in both these companies, Info Edge also invested in startups, including men’s grooming brand Ustra, B2B ecommerce platform Shopkirana, edtech platform Adda247, omni channel inter-city bus travel platform Zingbus, travel tech platform ixigo, among others.

It claims to have backed 111 companies till date.

In 2019, Info Edge rolled out a SEBI registered AIF venture capital fund, Info Edge Venture Fund (“IEVF”). The company claims to have invested via three funds — IEVF, Info Edge Capital and Capital 2B.

“The total corpus of these funds is INR 3,422.94 Cr out of which Info Edge has committed INR 1,613.75 Cr,” the company said in the letter.

Founded by Bikhchandani in 1995, Info Edge is one of India’s oldest internet-based companies, which operates across sectors such as recruitment (Naukri), real estate (99acres), matrimony (Jeevansathi) and education (Shiksha).

On the financial front, the company recorded a 141% surge in its consolidated net profit  to INR 288.41 Cr in the December quarter of FY25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 119.44 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, its operating revenue jumped 15% to INR 722.39 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 627.12 Cr in the year-ago period.

Info Edge’s Early Stage Bet

The company has attributed its growth to its investments in the early stage startups. It claims that investing in early stage startups contributes to an estimated 30-40% of the value of Info Edge.

“Apart from the AIF funds, we also began to invest with a small pool of money in early stage deep tech companies through a wholly owned subsidiary of Info Edge named Redstart Labs,” the letter added.

Indo Edge also said that while its AIF vehicles are still in the nascent stage, several portfolio companies are showing strong revenue growth. For instance, its portfolio companies, including TrueMeds, Geniemode, Attentive.ai, InPrime, among others received follow-on investments from notable investors including  Accel, Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global, among others. 

“Moreover, the largest investment of Info Edge Capital, BlueStone, has received follow-on investment from Prosus (Naspers group), Peak XV and Steadview Capital, and has already filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI for an IPO in the coming months,” the letter said.