Info Edge Share: How ₹614 Cr AI Investments Could Be the Next Wealth Creator for This Stock

Synopsis A parent company’s venture arm quietly bet on AI and deeptech before the world caught on – and the early numbers are starting to tell a story.

Most investors know it as the company behind Naukri. Some remember it as the early backer that turned a restaurant listing site and an insurance aggregator into two of India’s most valuable listed companies. But over the past five years, Info Edge has been quietly building a third act – one that is less about classifieds and more about the technologies shaping the next decade.

The Bet That Began Before the Buzz

Long before ChatGPT made AI a dinner-table conversation, Info Edge had already written its first cheques into AI and deeptech startups. The company started investing in these two themes around 2020 – through Redstart Labs, its wholly owned subsidiary, and through the Info Edge Ventures funds and Capital 2B, its deeptech-focused AIF. By March 31, 2026, Info Edge had deployed INR 1,003 crore across 54 companies in AI and deeptech combined. That is not a rounding error. It is a deliberate, concentrated bet placed well ahead of the market wave.

The AI portfolio now covers 28 companies spanning enterprise software, voice AI, robotics, legal tech, and consumer AI. The deeptech portfolio runs across 30 companies in areas as varied as semiconductors, space propulsion, immuno-oncology, electric mobility, and warehouse robotics. Entry points were early – most investments came in at the IP and R&D stage, often at Technology Readiness Level 3 or below. That kind of conviction, written before institutional consensus forms, tends to produce the most attractive entry valuations.

What the Numbers Say So Far

Intermediate IRRs in early stage investing deserve scepticism, and Info Edge’s management is refreshingly candid about that. But the direction of travel matters. As of March 31, 2026, the INR 614 crore deployed across 28 AI companies is carried at a fair market value of INR 1,268 crore – a 2.1x multiple on invested capital and a gross IRR of approximately 31%. The 30 deeptech companies, younger and still largely pre-revenue, are marked at INR 559 crore against an investment of INR 455 crore – a 1.2x multiple and roughly 15% gross IRR.

Fifteen of the 28 AI companies and 13 of the 30 deeptech companies have already attracted externally led follow-on rounds from institutional investors including Insight Partners, Peak XV, SIG, and Vertex. External validation from investors of that quality does not arrive without scrutiny.

Two deeptech portfolio companies – ePlane and Manastu Space – secured the country’s first allocations under the government’s RDI Scheme. ePlane received the single largest allocation nationally at INR 285 crore. Gnani.ai, a voice AI startup in the portfolio, was selected under the IndiaAI Mission and received INR 177 crore worth of government GPU compute credits. These are not footnotes. Government backing of this scale reduces de-risking timelines meaningfully.

The Broader Picture

Zoom out and the full portfolio – INR approximately 4,900 crore deployed across 135 startups including consumer tech – is now valued at INR approximately 41,300 crore, an 8.4x multiple and 33% gross IRR. Consumer tech, anchored by Eternal and PB Fintech, accounts for most of that value today. But the pattern Info Edge is building in AI and deeptech mirrors how those early consumer bets looked circa 2012: small positions, unfashionable timing, founders nobody else was talking to yet.

The real returns from the 2020-vintage AI and deeptech investments are still several years away. IPOs, not markups, will settle the score. But for investors watching Info Edge, the question is no longer whether the company can repeat its Zomato-Policybazaar playbook. It is whether they recognise a familiar setup taking shape.

About the Company 

Info Edge (India) Limited operates online platforms including Naukri.com, 99acres, Jeevansathi, and Shiksha. Beyond its core classifieds business, the company runs an active early-stage investment programme through its AIFs and subsidiaries, with a portfolio spanning consumer tech, AI, deeptech, SaaS, and fintech.

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