Info Edge had received an alternative investment fund class II license from SEBI in January this year to “fund investments unrelated to the core operating entity,” the filing read.
Job portal Naukri.com’s parent Info Edge has enhanced the corpus of its maiden venture capital fund – Info Edge (IE) Venture Fund I from Rs 100 crore during its launch in January this year to Rs 750 crore. The company in its latest filing with the stock exchanges, disclosing the corpus amount, said that along with its wholly-owned subsidiary as limited partners, Rs 350 crore has already been committed to the fund. Out of this, Rs 150 crore has been disbursed so far. As a prolific startup backer, Info Edge is known for early investments in unicorns such as Policy Bazaar and Zomato.
Info Edge had received an alternative investment fund class II license in January to “fund investments unrelated to the core operating entity,” the filing read. Info Edge has already made four investments from the new fund – around Rs 10.4 crore in payments solution startup DotPe, Rs 25.2 crore in social media platform Qyuki Digital Media, Rs 3.7 crore in healthcare firm Intellihealth Solutions and Rs 3.5 crore in esports community engagement platform Fanbuff Esports India.
Apart from the existing investments, the company also has a pipeline of investments with term sheets worth around Rs 85 crore. Info Edge is also in talks to raise $50 million from investors outside the group. “We see growth opportunities through investments in technology-oriented and innovation-oriented start-ups,” the company said in the filing.
Info Edge has been a part of the growing tribe of corporate backers in India supporting startups through multiple channels such as venture fund, accelerator or incubator, venture building platform, family office or investing on a standalone basis. Google, Microsoft, Reliance, SoftBank Group, Samsung, Alibaba, Tencent, Reliance, Times Group, Qualcomm, Intel, Naspers, Target, Flipkart etc. are some of the corporates backing startups through such platforms.
Info Edge’s net investment in investee companies stood at Rs 1,108 crore in the past year. “We own sizeable investments in startups and other companies,” it said that can potentially be monetized “under certain circumstances and we may also explore options to raise equity capital from external investors for our investment activities.”
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