India’s top internet firms have been increasingly split into two identities on a single platform that is creating revenue from the operating side that compromises the investment arm that is betting on the next generation of startups. Info Edge has maintained this dual model for many years now; once they threw out cash, they were able to fund early seatings in the companies that turned into household names. Its new cheque to its own holding subsidiary is more of a top-up than something new. It is simply extending the liquidity flowing into the very machine that makes the liquidity.

Investment approval details

On September 7, 2026, Info Edge (India) Limited communicated to the stock exchanges that the Committee of Executive Directors had approved an investment of around ₹10 crore in the wholly owned subsidiary, Startup Investments (Holding) Limited. This would involve the purchase of 33,57,958 equity shares of ₹10 face value each, carrying a premium of ₹19.78 per share through a cash transaction to be completed in 30 days. 

The investment is considered to be a related party transaction only because InfoEdge already holds a 100% stake in SIHL, directly and indirectly, through another subsidiary, Naukri Internet Services, and the investment was an arm’s length one, it added, without any promoter or promoter group interest. 

Its thinly capitalised entity is being created solely to hold and deploy money; while its reported turnover for the past three financial years is zero and net loss from 2024 up to March 2026 is around ₹1,500 crore, the net worth is approximately ₹203 crore. 

Its stated mandate is to make direct or indirect stakes in technology companies and pledges to alternative investment funds, and Info Edge noted the new money would only give SIHL more space to explore these possibilities in the future.

The primary engine used is the company’s rec-tech platform Naukri, which gave 70% of the operating revenue for Q4 FY26, followed by Jeevansathi and Shiksha with nearly ₹144 crore and ₹127 crore, respectively. 

Company background and industry overview

Where an order book is executed, redone, and worked down, Info Edge’s investment portfolio is a standing, continually expanding asset portfolio of 135 companies valued at nearly ₹41,300 crore, primarily developed through cash recycling, bought and sold on Naukri in early-stage and growth-stage investments over nearly 20 years. 

Eternal (formerly Zomato) and PB Fintech have already made positions worth some of the major numbers on Info Edge’s balance sheet, sometimes even outweighing the valuation of its basic operating business. 

The increase in SIHL by ₹10 crore doesn’t have any significant impact on the portfolio by itself, but simply ensures the specific vehicle held for direct investments and the AIF contribution is kept capitalised and able to issue the next cheque.

This side of the business can be compared to the operating business itself in terms of balance-sheet size, and can be said to be as large as the operating business, since it generates little revenue in any particular year, which info edge reports. 

The funding landscape for start-ups across the country has also become more discerning in 2026, preferring cash-flow positive ventures with profitability as opposed to just growth. This change typically works in favour of strategic domestic investors, such as Info Edge, who are not as time-sensitive as most venture funds and can write smaller cheques over a medium-to-long term.

Sanjeev Bikhchandani founded India’s largest online classifieds properties in recruitment (Naukri.com), real estate (99acres.com), matrimony (Jeevansathi.com), and education (Shiksha.com) in 1995. 

In addition to its core businesses, the company is one of the largest startup investor digitalisation portfolios in India, with early investments in digital companies like Zomato (now Eternal) and PB Fintech, largely made through subsidiaries like Startup Investments (Holding) Limited.

Conclusion

The board-approved investment of ₹10 crore in Startup Investments (Holding) Limited is a testament to Info Edge’s continued investment in specialized investment entities. Maintaining cash reserves in holding companies such as SIHL allows Info Edge to keep pace with strategic technology investments along with support for alternative investment funds.

As the broader macroeconomic conditions grow uncertain across some core business areas such as recruitment, it is the strength of Info Edge’s investment infrastructure that makes it one of the most stable and important technology investors in India for the long term.