Info Edge Puts Rs 1,268 Crore Value On Its AI Startup Portfolio
Info Edge says it has invested Rs 1,003 crore in 54 AI and deeptech startups since 2020, with the AI portfolio valued at Rs 1,268 crore and follow-on funding reached by 28 companies.
AI Investments Move From Experiment To Portfolio Value
Info Edge has put a Rs 1,268 crore fair value on its AI startup portfolio, turning its exposure to artificial intelligence from a broad strategic theme into a measurable investment book.
Naukri, Shiksha and Jeevansathi sit inside Info Edge’s operating group, while its investment arm has committed Rs 1,003 crore to 54 AI and deeptech startups since 2020.
Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani told shareholders that the same holdings were worth Rs 1,827 crore as of March 31, 2026, equal to a 1.8x return multiple.
The AI book accounts for Rs 614 crore of deployed capital across 28 companies.
Its Rs 1,268 crore fair value implies a 2.1x multiple on investment capital and an estimated gross IRR of 31%.
Deeptech Returns Are Smaller But Broader
Info Edge’s deeptech portfolio is spread across 30 companies, with Rs 445 crore invested since 2020.
The shareholder letter put that portfolio’s fair value at Rs 559 crore, or a 1.2x return multiple with a gross IRR of nearly 15%.
The deeptech companies span robotics, spacetech, semiconductors, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing.
The named portfolio companies include ePlane, Manastu Space, Unbox Robotics, Bharat Semi and Matter Motors.
The AI portfolio names Gnani.ai, Attentive AI and Aftershoot.
Gnani.ai recently released its Prisma v2.5 speech-to-text model, giving Info Edge at least one portfolio company tied directly to enterprise voice AI infrastructure rather than consumer app distribution.
Follow-On Funding Is The Portfolio Test
The shareholder letter says 52 of the 54 AI and deeptech startups remain active, while 28 have raised institutional follow-on funding rounds.
That follow-on figure is important because Info Edge’s own markups do not by themselves prove durable market demand.
For startup investors, the practical evidence sits in who can raise outside capital after the first cheque.
Info Edge describes a process built around meeting many startups, entering early at disciplined valuations, keeping initial cheques small and increasing exposure after companies are partly de-risked.
Bikhchandani cited Zomato and Policybazaar as examples of category-defining businesses that can generate large returns over time.
Info Edge first invested in Policybazaar in 2008 and in Zomato in 2010.
Public Holdings Still Dominate The Return Base
Across all startup sectors, Info Edge now carries a much larger book than the AI and deeptech slice.
The company has invested roughly Rs 4,900 crore across 135 startups in quick commerce, food delivery, insurance aggregation, fintech, gaming and other sectors.
That broader startup portfolio is valued at about Rs 41,300 crore.
Info Edge calculates the return multiple at 8.4x, with gross IRR estimated at 33%.
Of the total capital deployed, Rs 3,600 crore came from Info Edge and group companies, with the rest coming from external limited partners in the AIFs it manages.
The company’s shareholding in Zomato, now Eternal, and Policybazaar parent PB Fintech was worth Rs 31,500 crore as of March 2025.
Info Edge has not yet shown whether its newer AI and deeptech positions can produce a listed-company return base of that scale.
