Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com and 99acres, has seen the value of its artificial intelligence and deeptech startup portfolio cross Rs 1,800 crore, underlining the company’s growing focus on emerging technology investments in India.
According to a shareholder communication cited in reports, Info Edge and its managed investment vehicles have deployed more than Rs 1,000 crore across 54 AI and deeptech startups since 2020. The company has invested Rs 614 crore across 28 AI startups and Rs 455 crore across 30 deeptech companies through vehicles such as Redstart Labs, Capital 2B and Info Edge Ventures funds.
The AI portfolio is currently valued at Rs 1,268 crore, translating into a 2.1X multiple on invested capital and an estimated gross internal rate of return of around 31%. The deeptech portfolio is valued at Rs 559 crore, delivering a 1.2X multiple and an estimated gross IRR of about 15%. Together, the two segments reflect Info Edge’s long-term bet on technology-led innovation beyond its core internet businesses.
The company said many of these investments were made before the global AI funding boom, allowing it to back startups during early product development and intellectual property creation stages. This gives Info Edge exposure to companies building in areas that are now drawing greater investor and enterprise interest, including enterprise AI, AI infrastructure, vertical SaaS, robotics, spacetech, semiconductors, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and electric mobility.
Its AI portfolio includes startups such as Aftershoot, Attentive AI, Gnani.ai, Lumiq, Phot.ai, Pascal AI and Kris@Work. These companies operate across different areas of AI adoption, including enterprise applications, consumer products, infrastructure and sector-specific software. Of the 28 AI startups backed by the company, 15 have reportedly raised follow-on capital from investors including Insight Partners, Peak XV, SIG and Vertex.
On the deeptech side, Info Edge’s portfolio includes Unbox Robotics, ePlane, Manastu Space, Bharat Semi, Botsync, Matter Motors and Avammune. Thirteen of the 30 deeptech companies have raised external capital from institutional investors and sovereign programmes, indicating wider validation for several of its early bets.
Some portfolio companies have also received support from government-backed initiatives. Voice AI startup Gnani.ai received Rs 177 crore in GPU compute credits under the IndiaAI Mission, while Manastu Space and ePlane secured allocations under the government’s Research, Development and Innovation scheme.
Overall, Info Edge and its managed funds have invested nearly Rs 4,900 crore across 135 startups. The wider portfolio is valued at around Rs 41,300 crore, although the company has noted that a large part of this value remains unrealised. It has also reiterated its preference for public market exits, citing previous outcomes such as Eternal and PB Fintech.
The development is significant for India’s startup and martech ecosystem as AI and deeptech move from experimental areas to core business infrastructure. For marketers, enterprises and technology platforms, startups in these categories are increasingly shaping how companies automate workflows, analyse data, build customer experiences and create new digital products.
Info Edge’s portfolio performance also reflects a broader shift in Indian venture capital, where investors are looking beyond consumer internet models toward defensible technology, proprietary IP and enterprise-ready AI products. As AI adoption accelerates across sectors, early institutional bets in these areas may influence how capital flows into India’s next generation of technology companies.
The coming years will test whether these startups can move from technical promise to commercial scale, but Info Edge’s current portfolio value signals growing investor confidence in India’s AI and deeptech opportunity. The performance may also encourage more corporate investors to build structured funds around advanced technology, rather than treating AI and deeptech as peripheral innovation bets. across India’s expanding domestic startup ecosystem.