From Zomato to Policybazaar: InfoEdge has recorded 36% return on Startup Investments

InfoEdge, the parent company of Naukri.com, has earned a 36% return from its startup investments since 2007, according to founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani.

In a letter to shareholders, he said their Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) alone delivered 18.7% returns. The company and its partners have invested Rs 3,959.16 crore, and that investment is now worth Rs 36,855.40 crore.

Much of this growth happened in the last 5–7 years as early bets like Zomato and Policybazaar matured. He also said there’s still a lot of value in newer investments.

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“We first started investing in early-stage technology startups around 18 years ago, in 2007. This investing activity today contributes to an estimated 30-40% of the value of the company if analyst reports are to be believed—second only to the contribution of Naukri.com,” Info Edge Co-founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said.

"Business growth, growing market share, externally led follow-on rounds by marquee investors etc., are all strong markers of potential value that will get realised in future when these companies list in the public markets (our preference) or get acquired. Intermediate IRRs (internal rates of return) give some indication as to what may be possible tomorrow, but early stage investing tends to be a game of catching potential outliers early. We believe we have a fair number of those across the investments," Bikhchandani stated.

After establishing its stakes in Zomato and Policybazaar, InfoEdge went on to invest in other startups like men’s grooming brand Ustraa, B2B ecommerce platform Shopkirana, edtech company Adda247, inter-city bus service Zingbus, and travel platform ixigo.

So far, the company says it has backed 111 startups.

In 2019, it launched a SEBI-registered venture capital fund called Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF). Info Edge invests through three funds: IEVF, Info Edge Capital, and Capital 2B.

Looking ahead, the company expects some of its newer startup investments—like TrueMeds, Geniemode, and InPrime—to start growing. Bikhchandani noted that early-stage startups usually take 7–8 years to reach strong revenue and market share.

He also mentioned that their biggest investment, jewellery retailer BlueStone, could bring good returns once it goes public. BlueStone has already filed paperwork with SEBI to launch its IPO soon.

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