Info Edge Deeptech Bet: A Rs 1,003 Crore Portfolio Across 54 AI Startups
Info Edge is the company that runs Naukri.com, the big job website. It is also famous for putting money into Zomato and PolicyBazaar very early, before most people knew those names. Now Info Edge has quietly made a big new bet. It has put money into 54 startups that work on AI and “deeptech.” A startup is a young company. AI (artificial intelligence) means computers that can learn and do smart tasks. Deeptech means companies built on hard, advanced science and technology, not just clever business ideas. All these investments together are worth about Rs 1,003 crore. (One crore is ten million. So Rs 1,003 crore is just over ten billion rupees.) This is a big, careful bet that India’s next giant companies will be built on real, hard technology.
The headline numbers: Rs 1,003 crore across 54 startups
The news website Inc42 reported the numbers. Info Edge has an AI and deeptech portfolio worth about Rs 1,003 crore. A portfolio just means the full set of companies an investor has put money into. This money is spread across 54 startups.
Two things stand out. First, Rs 1,003 crore is a lot of money. This is a serious plan, not just a small test to look trendy. Second, the money is split across 54 companies. That tells us Info Edge is acting like a real, full-time investor. It is not just dabbling on the side.
If you split that money across 54 companies, the amount put into each one is fairly small. That is normal for early-stage deeptech. Early-stage means investing in very young companies. The plan is not to win with one company. The plan is to own many small bets. In this field, one big winner can pay back the whole fund on its own.
Info Edge as an investor: the Zomato and PolicyBazaar legacy
To see why this matters, look at Info Edge’s history. Long before Indian companies normally invested in startups, Info Edge was doing it. It wrote early cheques to companies that later became huge. It backed Zomato, the food-delivery and restaurant app. It backed PolicyBazaar, a website to compare and buy insurance. Both turned into two of the biggest success stories in Indian startups.
Those wins are not just nice trophies. They show patience. Info Edge joined both companies early. It held on through long, scary, uncertain years. It was rewarded when each company went public. “Going public” means the company sold its shares to ordinary people for the first time, on the stock market. A share is a small piece of ownership in a company. This history gives Info Edge something most new AI funds do not have. It can spot a winning company years before others agree. And it has enough money to wait calmly for that bet to work.
Info Edge Ventures: the dedicated investing arm
Most of this work is done by Info Edge Ventures. This is the special team inside the company that only does investing. By making a proper, organised fund, Info Edge turned lucky early bets into a steady machine. A fund is just a pool of money set aside to invest. A dedicated team brings discipline. It has a clear job, people who study deals full-time, and the ability to keep investing in a company round after round. It is the difference between getting lucky once and being built to do it again and again.
Why Info Edge is leaning into AI and deeptech now
The timing is not an accident. For over ten years, India’s startups got very good at consumer internet apps and SaaS. SaaS (software-as-a-service) means software you use over the internet, usually by paying a monthly fee. These mostly use technology that already exists. AI and deeptech are the next big step. They mean building the basic models, the hardware, the science tools, and the smart systems that other companies will then depend on. For a patient investor like Info Edge, getting in early on this change is the smart next move.
Info Edge also has one big advantage. Its main business, Naukri, makes good, steady profit. So Info Edge has cash and does not need quick returns. Many other funds have to give money back to their backers on a fixed timeline, so they feel rushed. Info Edge does not. Deeptech rewards exactly this kind of patience. When the money behind a slow idea is in no hurry, the founder can focus on building the technology. They do not have to keep begging for the next round of cash just to stay alive.
Key facts
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Portfolio value | Rs 1,003 crore |
| Number of startups | 54 |
| Focus | AI & deeptech |
| Investor | Info Edge |
What it signals for Indian deeptech founders and the funding climate
For people building AI and deeptech companies, this is good news. A well-known Indian investor is putting in money at a big scale. For a long time, Indian deeptech had a funding gap. This means it was hard to find money. These companies need a lot of research and a lot of time. Many could not find patient backers at home. So they were pushed to take foreign money, or to make their idea smaller and simpler just to get funded. A homegrown investor that can wait for the long run helps fix that problem.
It also sends a message of confidence to everyone else. When a respected name like Info Edge builds a deeptech book this big, others take notice. (“Book” here just means its collection of investments.) Other investors, later-stage funds, and even big companies that buy startups may start to take deeptech more seriously. Money tends to follow belief. And belief from a trusted investor spreads to others.
The risks: deeptech is a long-gestation bet
This is not a sure win. Deeptech is slow, needs lots of money, and often ends in either a big success or a total failure. A normal phone app can show good signs in a few months. A deeptech company may need years of research before it even has a product to sell. Many never get there at all. Going from a working test model to a real, growing business is full of dangers. There are technical problems, government rules, and bad timing in the market. Even the best research before investing cannot remove all of these risks.
That is exactly why spreading the money matters. Putting Rs 1,003 crore across 54 companies shows that Info Edge knows most early deeptech bets will fail. The plan depends on a small number of big winners making huge returns. The same patience that paid off with Zomato and PolicyBazaar will be tested again. This time it may take even longer. Investors should expect a long, bumpy road, not quick wins.
Why it matters (especially for India and founders)
India has the skills and the dreams to build world-class deeptech. But skill alone does not build companies. Patient money does too. A Rs 1,003 crore promise from an investor with such a strong record tells founders something important. The money to build hard technology inside India is finally showing up. India has long been known as the world’s back office, doing support work for other countries. Now it wants to build the world’s most advanced technology. For that bigger goal, this shift in where the money goes may matter more than any single startup in the portfolio.
FAQ
How big is Info Edge’s AI and deeptech portfolio?
According to Inc42, the portfolio is worth about Rs 1,003 crore. It is spread across 54 startups in AI and deeptech.
What is Info Edge known for as an investor?
Info Edge owns Naukri.com. As an investor, it is best known for backing Zomato and PolicyBazaar very early. Those became two of India’s most successful startup exits. An “exit” is when early investors finally make their money back, usually when the company is sold or goes public.
What is Info Edge Ventures?
Info Edge Ventures is the company’s special investing team. It is the organised group that finds startups, studies them, and puts money into them.
Why is deeptech considered a risky bet?
Deeptech needs a lot of money and is slow to turn into a real product. It often needs years of research. Most early bets fail. So investors put money into many companies, hoping a few big winners pay for all the losses.
The takeaway
Info Edge’s Rs 1,003 crore bet across 54 startups is more than just spreading its money around. It is one of the clearest signs yet that India’s deeptech and AI future deserves patient, homegrown money. And it comes from an investor with the record to back up that belief. Will it create the next Zomato? We will only know after years. But the bet itself changes the conversation about what Indian founders can build, and about who will pay for it.
Source: Inc42 — Info Edge’s AI & Deeptech Playbook: Rs 1,003 Cr Portfolio Across 54 Startups.
