Info Edge launches Rs 250 Cr growth-stage investment fund

Info Edge has launched a new growth-stage investment fund with a capital commitment of Rs 250 crore, marking its first dedicated vehicle for later-stage companies. The new vehicle, called B8 Fund-I, may also raise capital from external sponsors, taking the total corpus beyond the initial Rs 250 crore.

Info Edge already operates four early-stage investment platforms. These include Info Edge Ventures, which has raised Rs 2,300 crore across three funds; Capital 2B with a Rs 280-crore corpus; Redstart Labs, focused on AI-led startups; and direct investments from its balance sheet.

Through its venture vehicles, Info Edge has backed several startups at early stages, including Gnani AI, Ixigo, Shiprocket, Zingbus and Truemeds. Through its balance sheet, the company has invested in firms such as Zomato and Policybazaar in their early years.

The new Rs 250-crore fund will focus on backing growth-stage, tech-enabled companies in India or those primarily focused on India, the company said in a regulatory filing. Registered with Sebi as a Category II alternative investment fund, the vehicle will have a tenure of eight years from its first closing.

In May last year, Info Edge said its shareholders had approved a plan to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in Info Edge Ventures’ third fund as part of its strategy to institutionalise its startup investing platform.

The Info Edge Ventures funds are managed in a 50:50 partnership with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

For the quarter ended December 31, Info Edge’s operating revenue rose to Rs 819 crore, while net profit increased 10% year-on-year to Rs 317 crore from Rs 288 crore.