Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com, has emerged as one of India’s earliest institutional backers of artificial intelligence and deeptech startups, which have invested more than Rs 1,000 crore across 54 companies since 2020, according to a letter sent to shareholders on Monday.
The company said it has deployed Rs 614 crore across 28 AI startups and Rs 455 crore across 30 deeptech firms through its investment vehicles, including Redstart Labs, Capital 2B, and Info Edge Ventures funds.
Till date, Info Edge’s AI portfolio was valued at Rs 1,268 crore, translating into a 2.1X multiple on invested capital and an estimated gross internal rate of return (IRR) of around 31%. Meanwhile its deeptech portfolio was valued at Rs 559 crore, delivering a 1.2X multiple and an estimated gross IRR of 15%.
The company said that many of these investments were made before the global AI investment boom, which enabled it to back startups at the product development and intellectual property creation stage.
Info Edge’s AI portfolio includes startups such as Aftershoot, Attentive AI, Gnani.ai, Lumiq, Phot.ai, Pascal AI, and Kris@Work, spanning enterprise AI, consumer AI, AI infrastructure, and vertical SaaS applications. According to Info Edge, 15 of the 28 AI startups have gone on to raise follow-on rounds from investors including Insight Partners, Peak XV, SIG, and Vertex.
On the deeptech side, the portfolio covers robotics, semiconductors, spacetech, biotech, advanced manufacturing, and electric mobility. Key investments include Unbox Robotics, ePlane, Manastu Space, Bharat Semi, Botsync, Matter Motors, and Avammune. 13 of the 30 deeptech companies have raised external capital from institutional investors and sovereign programmes.
Several portfolio companies have also secured support from government initiatives. Voice AI startup Gnani.ai received Rs 177 crore worth of GPU compute credits under the IndiaAI Mission, while spacetech startup Manastu Space and electric air mobility firm ePlane secured allocations of Rs 115 crore and Rs 285 crore, respectively, under the government’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme.
Overall, Info Edge and its managed funds have invested nearly Rs 4,900 crore across 135 startups, with the portfolio now valued at around Rs 41,300 crore. The company said a large part of this value is yet to be realized and reiterated its preference for IPOs as the primary exit route, citing Eternal and PB Fintech as examples of successful outcomes.
Source link
