Management Discussion and Analysis Report
Introduction
Despite global economic uncertainty in FY25, India remained a high-growth economy, benefiting Info Edges primarily domestic-focused businesses.
The Company advanced its mid-term strategies, leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) through a dedicated team to enhance user experience and efficiency. With increased internet penetration in Tier II/Tier III cities, Info Edge is improving its penetration and has expanded its onground presence across its businesses. The core recruitment business witnessed a healthy growth, while non-recruitment segments continued growth momentum and became cash profitable. The Companys investment portfolio, including investments in Eternal and PB Fintech saw a significant market cap growth. Info Edge also invested in early-stage startups via Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs), aiming for long-term value creation, while maintaining financial prudence and strong cash reserves.
Business Environment
The Global Economy
After a steady performance in Calendar Year (CY) 24 with 3.3% growth, the global economy is under some level of uncertainty in CY25. This is primarily driven by evolving trade uncertainties and certain global geopolitical disturbances. Despite this, the global economy is on a gradual recovery path, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth expected to remain at 2.8% in CY25 and 3.0% in CY26.
CHART 1: GLOBAL ECONOMIC REAL GROWTH RATES
While the threat of widespread recession has eased, headwinds persist, including weak investment, rising debt burdens and low productivity across several economies. Trade policy uncertainties between major economies, especially the United States and China, continue to influence global supply chains. India remains relatively resilient due to strong domestic demand and diversified exports, though certain export-led sectors may face external demand pressures.
IMPACT ON INFO EDGE
While Info Edge primarily focuses on businesses in India, global economic developments are important for its business in two fundamental ways. First, some of the core sectors its businesses cater to, including primarily recruitment and real estate, are affected by global economic conditions, directly or indirectly, as the Indian economy is rapidly integrating into the global system. IT services companies in India are dependent on the developments in western countries, which directly impacts the demand for IT services hiring in India. Second, due to its investment exposure, the Company is influenced by global capital flows and equity market dynamics, which directly impact valuations and the effectiveness of its investments.
The Indian Economy
The April 2025 edition of the World Economic Outlook report by the International Monetary Fund estimates Indias growth at 6.5% in FY24 and projects it to grow at 6.2% and 6.3% in FY25 and FY26 respectively. By significantly outpacing global and regional peers, India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. This performance underscores Indias resilience and its growing significance in shaping the worlds economic trajectory.
Having said so, it is important to recognise that in FY25, India was impacted by temporary headwinds like election-led policy caution, irregular rainfall in the first half and global trade uncertainties since September 2024, which muted the growth momentum in the first three quarters of FY25. While there has been a reduction in growth levels, high-frequency indicators such as GST collections, auto sales, and FMCG growth are bouncing back, pointing to a strong domestic engine driving the national economy. The government will likely boost spending through the direct tax exemptions announced earlier, giving consumers more in hand and businesses a reason to invest.
Despite global uncertainties and downward revisions in growth forecasts for other large economies, India will likely maintain its leadership in global economic growth. Supported by strong fundamentals and strategic government initiatives, the country is well-positioned to navigate the challenges ahead. With reforms in infrastructure, innovation and financial inclusion, India continues to enhance its role as a key driver of global economic activity.
IMPACT ON INFO EDGE
Info Edges performance is closely aligned with the broader Indian economic environment. Robust GDP growth, rising consumption, and deepening digitisation are expanding opportunities across its Recruitment, Real Estate, Matchmaking, and Education platforms. The formalisation of the economy and increasing smartphone and internet penetration are driving online adoption and transforming how Indians search for jobs, homes and services.
The recruitment business, in particular, is strongly tied to job creation in non-IT sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, infrastructure, and retail segments that are closely linked to domestic economic activity. As these sectors expand with economic growth and government- led investments, they drive sustained hiring momentum on platforms like Naukri. Growth in blue and grey-collar employment, especially in urbanising India, further strengthens the demand on the Companys platforms like JobHai. The real estate sector is also closely linked to GDP growth and is further shaped by the ongoing wave of digitisation, benefitting classified platforms like 99acres. Additionally, platforms like Jeevansathi and Shiksha benefit significantly from increasing digital adoption, as more users turn to online platforms.
With a diversified digital portfolio and strong brand leadership. Info Edge is well positioned to benefit from Indias long-term structural trends of formalisation, consumption-led growth and digital transformation.
The Indian Digital Economy
GROWTH AND PENETRATION
India is the third-largest digitalised economy in the world, trailing only the United States and China. This standing positions India well to challenge these nations dominance in the coming years.
India has the worlds second-largest mobile and internet network in terms of the number of users. Few countries see data traffic per smartphone as high as in India. India is also the global leader in the volume of digital transactions and export of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services. The Indian economy has been rapidly digitalising over the last decade. Digital economys role in growth, employment and sustainable development is crucial.
According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in the report titled Estimation and Measurement of Indias Digital Economy, Indias digital economy is poised for extraordinary growth, outpacing the overall economy and contributing nearly one-fifth of the countrys national income by 2029-30.
DRIVERS OF GROWTH
The shift toward a US$1 Trillion digital economy by 2030 aims for digital activities to account for 20% of Gross Value Added (GVA). This ambition is reflected in the 46% surge in UPI transactions, which reached a record Rs.172.2 Billion in 2024. Furthermore, the rollout of 5G and BharatNet is enhancing digital access in rural areas, while digital commerce continues
to thrive through payment interfaces like Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Aadhaar, and UPI.
Digital adoption in India is rapidly increasing, with over 900 Million internet users expected by 2025. Key consumption hubs are emerging due to improved digital literacy, affordable smartphones, and low data costs. More than 60% of online shoppers now come from smaller towns, showing a shift in the digital economy. Notably, mobile data consumption per capita in these areas has surpassed metro cities, reflecting growing digital maturity in non-urban India. (Sources: IBEF, Press Information Bureau, Internet and Mobile Association of India)
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
Digital India, launched on July 1,2015, by the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, aims to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The initiative focuses on building digital infrastructure, promoting digital literacy, enhancing governance through technology, boosting electronics manufacturing and strengthening cybersecurity. It has gained significant momentum, especially post-COVID-19.
Indias digital infrastructure is rapidly expanding with strong policy support and funding that is penetrating deep into rural India as well. With an allocation of Rs.149.03 Billion until FY26, the Digital India Programme is actively focusing on cybersecurity, Al, and digital literacy.
The initiative has already trained over 7.35 Crore individuals across rural India. Launched in April 2022, ONDC is an initiative aimed at promoting open networks, for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic network. While it took 20 months (January 2023 to August 2024) to reach its first 100 Million transactions, the platform added another 100 Million transactions in just the last six months.
Initiatives like DigiLocker, UPI and e-KYC are enhancing Digital Public Infrastructure. The India Al Mission, with Rs.103.72 Billion in funding, focuses on developing multilingual Al models for healthcare and education. With these initiatives in place, the government is aiming to create a US$1 Trillion digital economy by 2030. (Source: Press Information Bureau, MeitY)
IMPACT ON INFO EDGE
Info Edges portfolio of businesses is significantly linked to online matching and digital advertising. Increased internet usage is translating into growth in digital advertising. The formalisation of the economy and increasing smartphone and internet penetration especially in Tier II and Tier III cities are driving online adoption and redefining the way Indians discover jobs, homes, life partners, and educational opportunities. As more individuals and enterprises move their activities online, engagement on platforms like Naukri, 99acres, Jeevansathi and Shiksha has increased significantly. With its strong presence in the digital space. Info Edge is well-positioned to be a contributor and a beneficiary of rapid growth in Indias digital advertising landscape.
Business Structure
With value creating growth as a fundamental objective. Info Edge has strategically organised its business segments in terms of their positioning in the long-term development path. Investments in operating businesses play a crucial role in driving competitiveness. These strategic investments are made to leverage synergies with existing businesses. While maintaining a strong liquidity position with sufficient cash and cash equivalents to mitigate financial risks related to its core operations. Info Edge also invests in supporting startups led by committed entrepreneurs who use technology to solve real-world problems and have the potential to scale into value creating sustainable ventures.
The Business Portfolio
From a strategic perspective, the business has two specific portfolios- operational business and financial investments.
OPERATIONAL BUSINESS
The core operational businesses span across four verticals-Recruitment, Real Estate, Matchmaking and Education, each at different stages of maturity but with strong market leadership. These verticals operate in dynamic sectors where digital transformation and emerging technologies continue to reshape market structures. Consequently, the competitive intensity is high, necessitating ongoing innovation, strategic adaptation, and sustained investments.
Current priorities include expanding services, enhancing user experiences, and developing new revenue streams while maintaining category leadership. These businesses are further supported by strategic investments, enabling platform enhancements, ecosystem development, and capability augmentation.
Info Edge adopts a flexible ownership approach, ranging from full ownership to minority stakes, in ventures that are strategically aligned with its operational priorities. Each business and its related strategic investments are led by independent, empowered teams with strong domain leadership. These teams operate with a degree of autonomy to foster innovation while being supported and governed by central functions such as Finance, Legal, HR, and IT, ensuring alignment with group-level policies and controls.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS
Info Edge has adopted a hybrid investment approach,
which combines direct investments from its balance sheet or through wholly-owned subsidiaries, and investments through AIFs. This approach enables the Company to back promising early-stage ventures while retaining a sharp focus on building its core operating businesses.
Over time, this segment has evolved into a well-structured platform with two primary investment avenues:
Investments through Balance Sheet Directly and through Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries
These are made either directly by Info Edge or through wholly-owned subsidiaries, typically into early-stage startups with the potential for long-term value creation. Notable outcomes from this portfolio include successful listings of companies like Eternal and PB Fintech, which are already delivering meaningful returns.
Investments through AIFs
Investments are also channelled through different AIF schemes, professionally managed by Info Edge Ventures and its investment management team:
Info Edge Venture Fund (Fund I)
Focuses on consumer tech companies with a Rs.7,575.00 Million first scheme and a Rs.7,560.00 Million follow-on scheme for the subsequent round of funding for the Companies that are progressing well with the initial funding rounds.
Info Edge Capital (Fund II)
A Rs.12,716.25 Million corpus focused on consumer tech companies.
Capital 2B (C2B)
A Rs.6,378.13 Million corpus focused on deep tech and IP-led businesses.
These funds are managed by seasoned investment professionals with deep domain expertise and strong governance practices. A robust risk management framework of AIF underpins all investment decisions, ensuring consistency in performance and sustainable value creation over the long term.
Financial Review
Standalone Business
The core business segments - Recruitment, Real Estate, Matchmaking, and Education, contributetothe standalone financial results of the Company. The Company has strategically acquired or developed other businesses to enhance the offering in each segment. Some of these entities have been brought into the standalone financial disclosures (like iimjobs and Hirist), while some are still accounted as investments (like Zwayam and DoSelect) and are not included in the standalone financials. Table 1 provides a condensed overview of the Companys Standalone Profit and Loss Statement.
TABLE 1: STANDALONE ABRIDGED PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT
| (Rs. Mn) | ||
Particulars |
FY25 | FY24 |
Revenue from Operations |
26,536.13 | 23,809.58 |
Network, Internet and other Direct Expenses |
531.61 | 496.04 |
Employee Benefits Expenses |
10,814.76 | 9,820.90 |
Advertising and Promotion Costs |
3,124.52 | 2,743.95 |
Other Expenses |
1,339.73 | 1,196.08 |
Depreciation and Amortisation |
801.45 | 677.38 |
Finance Costs |
190.77 | 163.11 |
Total Operating Expenses |
16,802.84 | 15,097.46 |
Operating PBT |
9,733.29 | 8,712.12 |
Other Income |
3,137.75 | 2,591.80 |
Profit before Tax and Exceptional Items |
12,871.04 | 11,303.92 |
Exceptional items Gain/(Loss) |
564.07 | (171.44) |
Profit before Tax |
13,435.11 | 11,132.48 |
Tax |
5,700.91 | 2,801.66 |
Profit after Tax |
7,734.20 | 8,330.82 |
Other Comprehensive Income (Net of Income Tax) |
17,288.83 | 139,180.71 |
Total Comprehensive Income |
25,023.03 | 147,511.53 |
TABLE 2: PERFORMANCE BY SERVICE LINE - STANDALONE
Particulars |
FY25 | FY24 | Y-o-Y growth |
Billings |
|||
Recruitment |
21,576.51 | 18,832.04 | 14.6% |
Non Recruitment |
7,240.13 | 6,126.81 | 18.2% |
Real Estate |
4,507.44 | 3,851.44 | 17.0% |
Matchmaking |
1,108.62 | 845.56 | 31.1% |
Education |
1,624.07 | 1429.81 | 13.6% |
Total |
28,816.64 | 24,958.79 | 15.5% |
Net Revenue |
|||
Recruitment |
19,826.18 | 18,052.66 | 9.8% |
Non Recruitment |
6,709.95 | 5756.92 | 16.6% |
Real Estate |
4,107.93 | 3,512.80 | 16.9% |
Matchmaking |
1,098.17 | 852.68 | 28.8% |
Education |
1,503.85 | 1,391.44 | 8.1% |
Total |
26,536.13 | 23,809.62 | 11.5% |
Operating PBT |
|||
Recruitment |
11,164.01 | 10,508.71 | 6.2% |
Non Recruitment |
(598.63) | (1,247.88) | NA |
Real Estate |
(475.25) | (688.48) | NA |
Matchmaking |
(118.35) | (587.15) | NA |
Education |
(5.03) | 27.75 | NA |
Total |
9,733.29 | 8,712.12 | 11.7% |
*The total operating PBT factors in unallocated expenses as well
Financial Highlights
In a challenging business environment, with diversified contributions to the business from various verticals, Info Edge delivered a strong financial performance in FY25. Key highlights of the performance are:
REVENUE GROWTH
Revenue from Operations increased by 11.45% from Rs.23,809.58 Million in FY24 to Rs.26,536.13 Million in FY25. With steady improvements in the market through the course of the year and diversified segment business portfolio, revenues from the core recruitment business increased by 9.82% to Rs.19,826.18 Million in FY25. The non-recruitment business portfolio, on the other hand, continued to grow steadily by 16.55% to Rs.6,709.95 Million.
BILLING GROWTH
Billings continued to reflect healthy growth, with total billings increasing by 15.46%to Rs.28,816.64 Million in FY25. The recruitment business grew by 14.57%, rising from Rs.18,832.04 Million in FY24 to Rs.21,576.51 Million in FY25, while the non-recruitment portfolio registered a growth of 18.17%, increasing from Rs.6,126.81 Million in FY24 to Rs.7,240.13 Million in FY25.
EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE COSTS
Despite continued investments in human resources and an increase in employee count to 6,065, as on March 31, 2025, employee costs as a percentage of revenue from operations decreased from 41.25% in FY24 to 40.75% in FY25, reflecting improved cost efficiency.
DISCIPLINED MARKETING INVESTMENTS WITH COST EFFICIENCY
The growth in billings and revenue was supported through well-calibrated and judicious marketing investments that enabled the Company to maintain strong competitive positioning without compromising on cost discipline. Consequently, while promotions and advertisement costs increased by 13.87% to Rs.3,124.52 Million in FY25, its ratio to revenue from operations remained at previous years levels - a marginal increase from 11.52% in FY24to 11.77% in FY25.
DEFERRED SALES REVENUE AND ADVANCE FROM CUSTOMERS
This is recorded as liabilities in the balance sheet. Deferred revenue and advances from customers increased by 19.34% from Rs.11,387.07 Million as on March 31, 2024 to Rs.13,589.82 Million as on March 31, 2025 due to the subscription-based nature of a large segment of the business.
OPERATING PROFIT BEFORE TAX
The steady topline growth with effective cost controls contributed to 11.72% growth in operating profits from Rs.8,712.12 Million in FY24 to Rs.9,733.29 Million in FY25. Operating PBT/revenue from operations stood at 36.68% in FY25.
PROFIT BEFORE TAX (PBT)
Again on fair value of non-current investment on account of declassification of Investment in Joint Venture to Investment in Financial instruments upon loss of control valued at Rs.1,437.34 Million has resulted in a gain in exceptional items worth Rs.564.07 Million against a loss of Rs.171.44 Million in FY24. This has contributed to a higher 20.68% growth in PBT from Rs.11,132.48 Million in FY24to Rs.13,435.11 Million in FY25.
PROFIT AFTER TAX (PAT)
PAT decreased by 7.16% from Rs.8,330.82 Million in FY24to Rs.7,734.20 Million in FY25 on account of increase in taxes from Rs.2,801.70 Million in FY24 to Rs.5,700.90 Million in FY25. This increase in taxes is mainly dueto increase in deferred tax charge on account of revision in effective tax rate from 11.44% to 14.30% on long term capital gain in accordance with the Finance Act 2024. The incremental deferred tax charge on account of such increase in tax rates amounts to Rs.2,596.77 Million.
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (TCI)
TCI declined from Rs.1,47,511.53 Million in FY24 to Rs.25,023.03 Million in FY25 mainly due to change in market- linked valuation of investments in Eternal.
CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS
Healthy growth in the business was followed by sustained growth in cash. Cash generated from operations increased by 16.12% from Rs.11,346.95 Million in FY24 to Rs.13,176.14 Million in FY25. The Companys cash balance, including wholly-owned subsidiaries stood at Rs.47,856.50 Million as of March 31,2025.
TABLE 3: KEY PERFORMANCE RATIO
s. No. Particulars |
FY25 | FY24 | % change |
1 Debtors Turnover Ratio |
90.05 | 97.32 | -7.5% |
2 Inventory Turnover Ratio |
Not Applicable | Not Applicable | - |
3 Interest Coverage Ratio |
68.47 | 70.30 | -2.6% |
4 Current Ratio |
2.43 | 2.73 | -11.1% |
5 Debt Equity Ratio |
0.01 | 0.01 | -0.9% |
6 Operating Profit Margin (%) |
37.40% | 37.28% | 0.3% |
7 Net Profit Margin (%) |
29.15% | 34.99% | -16.7% |
8 Return on Net worth (%) |
2.79% | 3.27% | -14.6% |
Notes to be read with ratios, respectively:
1. Debtors Turnover Ratio is computed on Net credit billing over average debtors. Net credit billing here means total credit billing less sales return. Variance is insignificant.
2. Inventory Turnover Ratio is not applicable as Company does not have any inventory, being a service company.
3. Interest Coverage Ratio is computed on profit before interest, tax & exceptional items over interest cost. Variance is insignificant.
4. Current ratio is calculated on Current asset over current liability. Variance is insignificant.
5. Debt Equity Ratio is computed on total debt over total equity (i.e. Equity and other equity). Variance is insignificant.
6. Operating Profit Margin is computed on profit before interest, tax, exceptional items & other income over revenue from operations. Variance is insignificant.
7. Net Profit Margin is computed on Net profit of the year (i.e. Profit after tax and exceptional items) over revenue from operations. Variance is insignificant.
Details around the various ratios are given in note 42 to standalone financial statements on Page 297
8. Return on Net Worth is computed on profit of the year (i.e. Profit after tax and exceptional items) over total equity (i.e. Equity and other equity). Variance is insignificant.
TABLE 4: BALANCE SHEET- STANDALONE ( Rs.Mn)
Particulars |
FY25 | FY24 |
Assets |
||
Investments |
276,139 | 248,916 |
Cash & Cash Equivalent |
35,106 | 33,117 |
Other Operating Assets |
1 5,867 | 11,004 |
Total assets |
327,112 | 293,038 |
Liabilities |
||
Shareholders Equity |
277,013 | 254,763 |
Other Liabilities & Provisions |
36,509 | 11,387 |
Deferred Sales Revenue/Customer Advances |
13,590 | 26,888 |
Total liabilities |
327,112 | 293,038 |
Info Edge continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, reflecting its solid financial health and prudent management practices.
The Company remains virtually debt-free, with 84.68% of its total standalone balance sheet size of Rs.327,112.27 Million as of March 31,2025 comprised of equity investments. Current liabilities and provisions account for 11.16% of the total, while deferred sales revenue, or customer advances, represent 4.15%.
10.73% of the total balance sheet is maintained as cash and liquid investments. A significant portion, 84.42%, is invested in startups and early-stage businesses, either directly orthrough the AIFs. The remaining 4.85% of the balance sheet is allocated to other fixed and operating assets.
This approach to balance sheet management ensures that Info Edge is well-positioned to navigate financial risks and continue investing in growth opportunities.
Consolidated Business
The standalone financials performance of Info Edge is a comprehensive indicator of the core operating business, while consolidated financial statements reflects non-operational investments with a broader objective of return on investment over a longer period of time as well.
In addition to the standalone performance, the consolidated financial performance comprises additional types of investments as listed below. These are as required by applicable accounting standards such as IND AS 110 (Consolidated Financial Statements); IND AS 28 (Investment in Associates and Joint Ventures), etc.:
> The complete financial performance of wholly-owned subsidiaries
> The complete financial performance of majority-owned subsidiaries and controlled trusts, after accounting for the portion of profit or loss attributable to minority shareholders
> The profit or loss of joint venture companies, proportional to Info Edges shareholding in them
> Gains from the increase in fair value of joint venture companies when they are acquired as subsidiaries on the acquisition date
> Gains from the reduction of control (i.e. diluted stake) in joint venture companies, arising from the increase in enterprise value of these companies overthe carrying value of such investments upon receiving external funding
TABLE 5: ABRIDGED CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT
Particulars |
FY25 | FY24 |
Revenue from Operations |
28,495.51 | 25,363.40 |
Network, Internet and Other Direct Expenses |
783.01 | 747.07 |
Employee Benefits Expenses |
12,353.41 | 11,282.37 |
Advertising and Promotion Costs |
3,731.14 | 3,424.58 |
Other Expenses |
1,780.82 | 1,616.95 |
Depreciation and Amortisation |
1,130.90 | 1,011.25 |
Finance Costs |
242.35 | 222.60 |
Total Operating Expenses |
20,021.63 | 18,304.82 |
Share of Loss of Joint Ventures |
(1,229.93) | (1,309.82) |
Operating Profit before Tax |
7,243.95 | 5,748.76 |
Other Income |
10,732.47 | 4,137.35 |
Profit Before tax and Exceptional Items |
17,976.42 | 9,886.11 |
Exceptional items gain/(loss) |
1,469.77 | (1,105.78) |
Profit Before Tax |
19,446.19 | 8,780.33 |
Tax |
6,347.18 | 2,834.80 |
Profit After Tax |
13,099.01 | 5,945.53 |
Other Comprehensive lncome/(loss) (including share of profit/(loss) of Joint Ventures -Net of Tax |
39,153.01 | 163,900.70 |
Total Comprehensive Income |
52,252.02 | 169,846.23 |
Financial Highlights
> Revenue from operations increased by 12.35% to Rs.28,495.51 Million in FY25
> Advertising and promotional expenses increased by 8.95% to Rs.3,731.14 Million in FY25, while other expenses increased by 10.13% to Rs.1,780.82 Million in FY25
> Employee costs were also well managed, with the percentage to revenue from operations decreasing from 44.48% in FY24 to 43.35% in FY25
> Losses from the share of investments in Joint Ventures reduced by 6.10% to Rs.1,229.93 Million in FY25
> With profits in exceptional items, against losses in FY24, total PBT more than doubled to Rs.19,446.19 Million in FY25 and PAT increased from Rs.5,945.53 Million in FY24to Rs.13,099.01 Million in FY25
> With adjustments on deferred tax and lower gains on share of listed investments, total comprehensive income reduced to one third levels, Rs.169,846.23 Million in FY24to Rs.52,252.02 Million in FY25
Business Review
Businesses Under Direct Management in the Standalone Entity
RECRUITMENT
naukri
i rie recruitment vertical is trie company s largest operating business. I ms vertical is well established as a market leader generating substantial revenues and profits. These profits are the basis for diversified investments that have enabled the growth of the Companys business portfolio.
Within the recruitment portfolio, there are entities grouped in the following manner:
Core Business
The flagship brand, Naukri, holds a dominant position in the white-collar hiring space, with the largest and most diverse base of recruiters and jobseekers in India.
Its core value proposition lies in rich proprietary data assets built over decades, a best-in-class search and recommendation engine and the continuous adoption of AI/ ML and emerging technologies. Coupled with deeper penetration into Tier II and Tier III markets, these strengths reinforce Naukris powerful flywheel and cement its market leadership.
Alternate Recruitment Marketplace Portfolio
This portfolio of offerings, built organically and through strategic acquisitions, enables the Company to address the growing specialisation within the recruitment services space by catering to niche talent segments. It includes iimjobs (a specialised premium hiring marketplace for management graduates and professionals), Hirist (specialised premium technology hiring platform), Naukri Campus (fresher hiring platform) and JobHai (blue-collared hiring platform). While they function as independent operations, they strongly integrate with the Companys overall recruitment business portfolio. Regarding geography, the Company has a standalone business for Middle East-focused online hiring - NaukriGulf, replicating Naukris successful model in the Middle East, starting with the Indian diaspora and expanding to diverse nationalities.
Recruitment Tools-Based Businesses
This includes businesses that support the customer front-end platforms with specialised, focused tech-based support systems. It includes DoSelect (a skill assessment platform) and Zwayam (a digital application management system and talent management).
Job Search Enablement Services Portfolio
This set of businesses actively plays a role in providing support to improve customer engagement across front- end interfacing web platforms. It includes AmbitionBox (an Employer review and rating platform across different parameters) and Naukri Fast Forward (value-added services to Naukri subscribers). In addition, the Company has a stake in an online coding learning platform, Coding Ninjas.
Given its extensive business portfolio, the Company continues to establish its leadership position strongly in a market that continues to evolve.
Market Overview
The Global job market is undergoing a rapid transformation. Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing; robotics and automation; and energy generation, storage and distribution, are increasingly playing a major role in changing the recruitment landscape worldwide. These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles and fuelling demand for technology-related skills, including AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity and general technological literacy.
Indias job market in FY25 remained moderate, navigating global economic headwinds through the strength of its domestic economy, government-led infrastructure investments and accelerated digital adoption across industries. While the non-IT sector remains closely tied to the domestic economy, the IT services sector is affected by global developments. As a result, the non-IT sector is driving hiring activity, supported by Indias stable economic growth, while the IT services sector is adjusting to a global flux. Overall, hiring activity in FY25 remained modest, showing a more measured activity levels.
The technology sector remained a key growth engine, with the industry recording estimated revenues of US$283 Billion, marking a 5.1% Y-o-Y growth.
Net additional headcount in the sector was expected at 126,000, pushing total tech employment to over 5.8 Million. India is poised to see a massive surge in demand for AI professionals, with projections estimating the need for 1 Million skilled individuals by 2026, according to the report Indias AI Revolution: A Roadmap to Viksit Bharat, released by the MeitY (Source: NASSCOM Strategic Review 2025)
The manufacturing and infrastructure sectors also experienced strong hiring momentum. Manufacturing hiring increased by 25%, driven by the governments Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and the continued thrust under the Make in India initiative, as highlighted in the Taggd Decoding Jobs 2025 Report. Infrastructure development further boosted employment as government capital expenditure rose by over 30% Y-o-Y, fuelling job creation across transportation, urban housing and renewable energy projects. (Source: Recruitment Entrepreneur 2025 Outlook)
India also expanded its global innovation hub position by expanding Global Capability Centres (GCCs). In FY25, GCCs employed approximately 1.9 Million professionals, with significant hiring focused on analytics, AI/ML and product engineering roles. (Source: NASSCOM)
The renewable energy sector also contributed significantly to job creation, adding nearly 200,000 new jobs in FY25, driven by large-scale solar and wind energy installations. These developments aligned with Indias national target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, a key pillar of its sustainability agenda. (Source: Recruitment Entrepreneur 2025 Outlook)
Hiring trends reflected a clear dominance of white-collar job creation across sectors such as BFSI, healthcare,
technology, and telecom. While there has been growth in blue and grey-collar roles, particularly in logistics, e-commerce and retail, the larger focus remained on upskilling and transitioning workers into higher-paying, more specialised roles. (Source: Taggd Decoding Jobs 2025 report)
Despite external challenges, Indian companies are showing steady performance, with the corporate sector set for continued growth. This is driving workforce expansion through both replacement hiring and new role creation. In this context, several key trends are shaping the evolving recruitment landscape.
First, Indias GCCs are expanding rapidly, the projected CAGR of GCCs is likely to touch 14% between 2023 and 2030. The market will likely surpass US$100 Billion by 2030. This growth will position India to capture a staggering 40% of the GCC market thus cementing its role as the worlds premier destination for innovation and talent. (Source: EY, IBEF, Inductus GCC)
Second, the Impact of Al on job market cannot be overlooked. Al is a horizontal technology that will impact different sectors at varying speed. Al can help create varying opportunities across different sectors. Companies will increasingly hire for roles in Al implementation, prompt engineering and domain expertise. Customer service, operations and administrative jobs are at higher risk of automation. GCCs in India are evolving from cost centres to innovation hubs, with Al driving their growth and creating new job opportunities.
Third, traditional IT services roles are also facing increased attrition with most IT service companies reaching their peak utilisation levels. However, replacement hirings have resumed.
Fourth, there are rapid regional shifts underway. Emerging cities like Jaipur, Indore, and Coimbatore are becoming talent hubs, attracting fresh graduates and mid-level professionals. This shift is driven by cost savings and untapped talent pools, supported by industries like BFSI, manufacturing, infrastructure, and tourism.
Fifth, in terms of hiring trends, companies are prioritising mid-level experience for faster impact and domain expertise. Organisations in India are also emphasising diversity and inclusion, alongside welcoming experienced professionals returning to the country from global roles.
Sixth, over the years, the value del ivered to the Companys customers has also improved, with a growing share of higher-value candidate profiles being searched more frequently on Naukri, indicating a clear trend of platform premiumisation.
Seventh, there is considerable emphasis on upskilling and STEM. In fact, STEM education and industry-specific training programmes equip the workforce with skills in Al, robotics and cybersecurity. Upskilling initiatives prepare middle management to drive global operations effectively.
Eighth, India is witnessing strong momentum in job creation across blue and grey-collar roles, particularly in sectors like logistics, e-commerce, retail, and manufacturing. Rising demand, digital hiring platforms, and increasing formalisation are reshaping the landscape for blue-and grey-collar hirings.
The JobSpeak Index, is a good representation of job market trends in India. This is a statistical index developed from hiring activity data captured across all the Naukri platforms. According to this measure, recruitment activity which had witnessed a Y-o-Y decline in first half of CY24, picked up since November 2024 and between April 2024 and April 2025, there has been 9% growth. After a few soft months, there is strong demand for premium talent and growth in fresher hiring sectors across core, non-IT sectors.
Business Operations
Following a muted performance in FY24, Info Edges principal business, Naukri, experienced a steady recovery in FY25, with growth momentum improving each quarter. The business continued to enhance its value proposition through Al-driven solutions and the flywheel strategy, delivering smarter job matching, faster resume discovery, and improved candidate engagement.
Info Edges recruitment flywheel strategy is firmly in playtransforming Naukri from a transactional job platform into a comprehensive talent partner that spans sourcing, assessment, employer branding, talent engagement, and end-to-end recruitment automation. This virtuous cycle enhances platform stickiness and monetisation potential, driving continued growth and resilience across business cycles. Naukris flywheel further accelerates growth by leveraging increasing scale and network effects, creating a self-reinforcing momentum that strengthens its market position. Naukri has maintained its core focus on expanding its customer base. As of March 31, 2025, the platform had over 128,000 corporate clients and a database of 106 Million resumes. This steady growth underscores the continued momentum across key performance parameters for Naukri.
With a presence in over 80 cities, Naukris extensive sales and distribution network positions the Company well for sustained success- not just in metros and Tier I cities, but also by enabling deeper penetration into Tier II and Tier III markets.
The Companys recruitment business is well-diversified across multiple sectors, with a focus on strengthening its presence in non-IT sectors. While IT services continues to be a significant segment, the Companys reliance on IT services clients has moderated over the years, supported by strong growth in GCCs and other emerging sectors. During FY25, direct contribution from IT Services (incl. IT services and GCC IT Services) was ~25% while overall contribution from IT Services, including direct and through Consultants on a pro-rata basis remained between 30- 35%. GCCs contributed around 16-17% of recruitment India B2B billings in FY25. Chart 4 shows the breakup of companys FY25 B2B billings across different sectors In FY25, billings in Tech, IT services and BPM combined grew by 11.4%, GCCs by 18.9%, Other Sectors by 16.2% and the Recruitment Consultant segment by 9.5%.
Throughout the year, various new features and offerings have been introduced in the vertical for enhanced user experience (both job seekers and recruiters) and efficiency:
> To significantly improve user experience, AI tools are being deployed for better resume discovery and more appropriate matchmaking between job providers and job seekers.
> Naukri Talent Cloud has evolved into a comprehensive, AI-driven recruitment platform offering end-to- end solutions from talent planning to hiring. While functioning as a unified ecosystem, it delivers customised experiences tailored to different user segments- large enterprises, mid-sized companies and recruitment agencies.
> Employer branding has emerged as a key growth and monetisation area within Naukri Talent Cloud. Integrated solutions across Naukri, iimjobs, Hirist and AmbitionBox help employers craft targeted brand narratives to attract the right talent. With data- driven insights and precision targeting, organisations can enhance their employer value propositions. AmbitionBoxs reviews and salary insights shape perception, while Naukris customised branding campaigns boost visibility, collectively strengthening talent pipelines and improving hiring outcomes.
> New offerings like AI-Rex are developed, currently the product is in Beta stage. AI-Rex is Naukris Agentic AI product that automates repetitive tasks in large-scale hiring processes, increasing hiring efficiency and speed. The business is also leveraging its data assets to build data products to provide actionable insights into talent planning, salary insights and attrition, offering reports tailored for large enterprises.
> The Company has also launched DoSelect SpeechSense, powered by GenAI. This innovative product seeks to help HR professionals evaluate language proficiency, a crucial skill for effective communication in the workplace.
> For the large existing user base, efforts are driven to provide value added services like the Naukri 360 platform, which is a career platform with specialised services for job seekers. This career platform supports jobseekers with services for resume preparation and also provides training for interviews with several options for mock interviews and practice sessions.
> Naukri Campus is a website for students to prepare for jobs and internships in IT and other sectors. It offers services like role exploration, aptitude tests, expert sessions and contests.
> I n the year, Naukri Minis, a platform that delivers trending content for job seekers and recruiters was introduced. With curated, bite-sized news updates, through this, users can stay informed about industry trends, job market insights and recruitment strategies.
Within the recruitment segment, the niche and adjacent businesses continued to witness good traction in FY25.
The niche markets in the recruitment space has been well serviced by the premium offerings in the portfolio - iimjobs and Hirist. The specialised professionals platform iimjobs caters primarily to senior management placements and in FY25 the business continued to firmly establish its strong positioning in the market. Hirist, which is an exclusive recruitment platform for premium technology talent also has a positive year albeit in a marketplace, which was under stress. These businesses recorded 35.69% Y-o-Y growth in billings in FY25, while establishing healthy operating profit margins.
NaukriGulf essentially replicates the Naukri model in the Middle East market, which witnessed strong activity in FY25. The business started with a focus on the Indian diaspora but has over the last few years also services people from several nationalities and is fast emerging as a well-recognised hiring platform for the region. Given the strong economic activity of the region, NaukriGulf has successfully leveraged the opportunities and billings increased by 22.59% while generating high operating profit margins in FY25.
The Naukri platform is further supported by its focused offering - Naukri Fast Forward - which essentially provides value added services to Naukri subscribers around critical job related processes involving individuals resume and interview process. For resumes, there is a wide spectrum of support, including resume development and resume critique. To enhance interactions with recruiters there is recruiter connection, display features and SMS priority applicant. In addition to this there are trainings related to interviews and enhanced lead generation through chatbox and IVR. This business recorded 23.44% growth in billings, while maintaining the operational profitability during FY25.
During FY25, the Company continued to leverage the investments made in the recruitment tools-based businesses through acquisitions of Zwayam and DoSelect.
Zwayam Hire is essentially an AI-powered enterprise recruitment automation platform that digitises the complete recruitment activities and helps win over talent acquisition goals, Zwayam Amplify is the API integration with the Naukri Hiring Suite. It has relationships with a strong customer base. These are examples of cross leveraging of new products like Zwayam with existing brands and offerings to achieve an important next level objective of generating higher share of wallet from clients.
DoSelect is a skill assessment platform built to help organisations evaluate talent effectively, for both recruitment and learning & development use cases. Trusted by over 4,000 clients and 8,500+ HR professionals, DoSelect has powered more than 1 Crore assessments to date. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of products that support every stage of the recruitment lifecycle, from screening and assessments to interviews and candidate engagement via hiring challenges. With a built-in library of 150,000+ questions across diverse roles, it supports 25+ programming languages, 15 frameworks, and domains like AI/ML, Data Science and UI/UX. DoSelect enables full-stack/project-based evaluations through a dedicated Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and generates insight-rich reports with deep code analysis, code quality scores and performance metrics. Designed for scale, it is a remote-ready, self-serve platform that runs in an AI-enabled proctored environment-empowering teams to make smarter people decisions with confidence and speed
Naukri Campus targets at gearing freshers from campuses for their first job. The primary focus is on developing the service of hiring fresh students from campuses. While much of this hiring is done offline and the basic aim of this business is to convert the existing offline activities to online and build on the potential of online campus hiring. Today, this business is at a very early stage of development.
In the Job Search Enablement Services portfolio, AmbitionBox has witnessed significant growth over the past couple of years, cementing its position as one of Indias leading platforms that empowers job seekers to discover the best workplaces. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of insights—including employee reviews, salary benchmarks, and interview experiences— that enable users to make confident and informed career decisions. In FY25, AmbitionBox continued its strong growth trajectory, firmly establishing itself as Indias No. 1 platform for company reviews and salary insights. Today, the platform boasts over 1.5 crore registered users, more than 4 crore salary contributions, over 80 lakh company reviews, and a repository of over 18 lakh interview questions. In collaboration with Naukri, AmbitionBox launched the 4th edition of AmbitionBox Employee Choice Awards, recognising and celebrating top companies to work for—based entirely on authentic employee reviews and ratings. The awards spotlight organisations that foster positive work environments and outstanding employee experiences.
With JobHai, Info Edge is building a platform in blue-collar job market. The sector has been witnessing considerable opportunities with underlying growth in industrial activity in India in sectors like manufacturing, logistics and construction services and with more cities evolving as urban centres creating demand for services related to delivery and regional sales. JobHai has made initial inroads in this segment and is in the development phase. It has extended its presence to multiple cities in India with primary focus on top metros. Today, it has over 15 Million candidates across 40+ categories (customer support entry-level roles, data entry operators, delivery agents, drivers, on-field roles like runners, product introduction, collection, sales, info collection, business development and cooks). These offerings are delivered via a largely freemium model (job posts and recommendations) with
monetisation being derived through subscriptions, which continues to evolve. FY25 was the first full year of monetisation for JobHai. This business has been growing well, and the Company continues to make investments for the long term. Although still small, it could become a sizeable business in the mid-to- long term.
Strategic Outlook and Development
The Indian recruitment sector showed signs of recovery in FY25, with notable growth in emerging segments. This momentum is expected to carry forward into FY26 and beyond. With the growing hype around Al, its impact on jobs is likely not be one-dimensional-while some roles may be automated, new positions will emerge. This sectoral divergence requires nuanced navigation. India is uniquely positioned in the global Al landscape. With the world facing a shortage of Al specialists and Indias robust technical education foundation, India has the opportunity to become a global Al talent. The rising demand for Al skills could also result in higher attrition and increased workforce mobility. This churn is likely to drive greater activity across Info Edges platforms. Info Edge is actively preparing for this transformation.
The Company is deploying Al to enhance search and matching algorithms across all platforms, significantly improving and personalising user and customer experience and to create new offerings like Al-Rex and data products to expand monetisation capabilities and opportunity size.
Furthermore, Info Edge is constantly identifying new categories and working to achieve leadership in a targeted manner. The initiative in the blue-collar space, JobHai, is making significant strides into a different category and is positioned for considerable growth in mid to long term.
By leveraging its full suite of brands, Info Edge continues to strengthen its position as a dominant player in the online recruitment space in the country.
Real Estate
99acres
The real estate industry in India has witnessed a strong revival in the last couple of years, significantly increasing activities in the online space. As a business, 99acres has been through a phase of major strategic developments with investments to enhance its customer experience and stay ahead of the competition. From a primary market perspective, in FY25, the Indian real estate market saw a relative tapering of the growth momentum witnessed over the last few years. Flowever, activities in the secondary market continued to grow and this is where the online real estate classified platforms saw maximum action. 99acres continued to build on the major initiatives undertaken over the last few years and FY25 was about effective on-ground execution.
Business Environment
The Indian real estate sector is experiencing a significant digital transformation, with online classifieds platforms playing a pivotal role in reshaping the property search and transaction process. Overall advertising spend in the real estate sector, across both digital and non-digital channels is expected to grow, driven primarily by a sharper rise in digital ad spends and shift from non-digital to digital modes. This growth is fuelled by better engagement, enhanced targeting capabilities and increasing consumer reliance on online platforms for property research and discovery.
Platforms like 99acres have capitalised on this trend by offering maximum choices, comprehensive property listings, virtual tours and Al-driven recommendations, enhancing the user experience and streamlining the property search process. The integration of advanced technologies such as AI/ML has enabled these platforms to provide personalised property suggestions, predictive pricing models and efficient lead management systems, thereby increasing engagement and conversion rates.
Furthermore, the rise of social media and influencer marketing has opened new avenues for real estate advertising. Developers and agents are leveraging these channels to reach targeted audiences across cities. This shift towards digital platforms not only offers cost- effective marketing solutions but also provides valuable data analytics to inform business strategies.
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
The Indian residential real estate market has sustained its strong post-pandemic momentum, with annual sales volumes across the top eight cities registering a robust CAGR of 23% since CY20. This growth trajectory continued into CY24, with markets such as Hyderabad and Pune achieved historic highs, underlining strong consumer sentiment and sustained demand. Housing sales in Indias top eight cities rose 7% Y-o-Y in CY24, reaching a 12-year high of 3.5 Lakh units, driven by strong demand for premium homes and stable mortgage rates. Residential launches also hit a 12-year high, growing by 6% Y-o-Y in 2024 to reach 3.7 Lakh units. Launches of properties priced at Rs.10 Million and above surged from 36,000 units in 2019 to 1.8 Lakh units in 2024, though launches below Rs.50 Lakh declined by 10%. The Rs.2-5 Crore segment saw an 85% Y-o-Y growth, driving housing momentum despite overheating concerns. (Source: Knight Frank)
A key driver of this momentum is the rising preference for premium and lifestyle-oriented housing solutions, with higher demand across mid and premium categories. While the ultra-luxury segment (priced above Rs.500 Million) witnessed a more measured pace, all other premium segments saw healthy sales growth, reflecting aspirational home buying and lifestyle upgrades across urban India.
At the same time, the market is displaying signs of greater maturity and efficiency in inventory management. In the affordable housing segment (units priced under Rs.5 Million), inventory levels declined as developers calibrated new launches to align with market absorption. In higher ticket-size segments, inventory has grown in line with rising supply, demonstrating developer confidence in longterm demand for premium housing.
Importantly, the markets ability to absorb supply has improved significantly, as reflected in the Quarters to Sell (QTS) ratio, which has declined from 9.5 quarters in H1 2021 to 5.8 quarters in H2 2024. This indicates faster sales cycles and a healthier, more resilient market environment despite higher inventory levels in select segments.
With a sustained end-user focus, rising urban incomes driven by robust GDP growth and a maturing supply pipeline, the Indian residential real estate sector remains firmly on a high-growth trajectory, offering balanced opportunities for both buyers and developers.
COMMERCIAL OFFICE SEGMENT
In the last few years, India has stood out in the global market in terms of economic growth. Since CY22, given the positive sentiment around the economy, there has been sustained momentum in occupier activity in the office market. CY24 was a landmark year for Indias office market, with gross leasing activity reaching 71.9 Million square feet.
Transaction volumes in Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad scaled record highs. Today, Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai are the countrys three largest office markets, accounting for 57% of the total transacted area during CY24. The underlying constituents driving growth in this sector have changed substantially overtime.
Previously, third-party IT service providers had been a prominent driver of office space demand, but today, India-facing businesses are at the forefront. India-facing businesses accounted for 36% of the total volume transacted during CY24. Global companies based in the western hemisphere have also been increasing their business operations in India, setting up GCCs to leverage the increasingly high-quality talent pool and cost arbitrage that the Indian market offers and these GCCs took up 31% of the total transactions in CY24. Small businesses taking up space in co-working offices also contributed significantly to the growth. Flex space operators saw a 52% Y-o-Y growth, leasing 15.7 Million square feet. (Source: Knight Frank)
Increased transactions in residential and commercial real estate are driving significant growth in online activity. The leading players are competing vigorously to garner traffic share and move to the next level of activities. Digital marketing has emerged as the cornerstone of modern strategies, enabling real estate professionals to connect with broader audiences, showcase properties innovatively, and close deals more efficiently.
USE OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS IN REAL ESTATE SPACE
Advancements in digital payment systems have increased consumer trust, encouraging developers to offer online booking options for expressing purchase intent. While final transactions remain offline, platforms like 99acres bridge thisjourney by enabling informed decision-making through maximum choices, rich listings, virtual tours, and Al-driven recommendations, seamlessly connecting buyers with developers and agents for closing transactions. Leading developers are offering digital platforms where buyers can explore projects and register their interest or make token reservations for new launches. With technological advancements, virtual property tours have gained immense popularity in India. Today, prospective buyers can explore different property options from the comfort of their homes by undertaking 360-degree virtual tours and evaluating properties by seeing high-quality images and interactive floor plans. Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the go-to source for property searches and evaluation. Optimising mobile-based interactive platforms is fast becoming a norm. This approach requires optimisation by creating responsive websites that adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes.
Chatbots and Al assistants are increasingly used on real estate developers and agents websites and messaging platforms. These intelligent virtual assistants provide instant responses to common queries, guide users through property searches and assist with scheduling property viewings. Chatbots offer 24/7 availability, improving customer service and streamlining the lead generation process. Developers and agents leverage data analytics tools to analyse user behaviour, track campaign performance, and gain insights into customer preferences. Automation tools streamline repetitive tasks, such as e-mail campaigns and lead nurturing, allowing professionals to focus on high-value activities.
Business Operations
99acres primarily operates across two strategic business areas: Primary Business, focused on new projects and new homes and the Secondary Business, focused on resale properties in residential and commercial segments. In addition, the platform offers a wide range of rental listings in residential and commercial, segments including co-living, paying guest accommodations small to mid-size shop and office spaces, to serve the evolving needs of urban users and clients.
In FY25,99acres witnessed continued strong growth in the secondary business, while the primary business remained steady. The business has continued to focus on improving the user interface and providing high-quality content in well-packaged disaggregated form. This has been at the core of the businesss push to gain user traffic. Among online real estate players, 99acres leads the market in terms of traffic time share as of March 31, 2025 as per similar web data.
Across these segments, 99acres continues to improve its contents quality and depth to create a robust market positioning and enhance user satisfaction. Al continues to be a key enabler in content generation, lead conversion and customer service.
These tech-based initiatives are further supported by on ground sales team across all key cities. As of FY25, the business now has a ground sales presence in 60 cities. While the eight metros remain the core contributors, this wider geographic footprint is expected to support mid-to long-term business expansion.
The online real estate space remains intensely competitive. 99acres continues to strengthen its leadership through tech innovation, deeper market penetration and a nnstnmpr-npntrin pnnrnanh
Divisional Financial Performance
The FY25 financial performance highlights of 99acres show that the business recorded good growth in billing and revenues but had to incur costs on effective marketing and sales-related activities. Marketing investments are increasingly being made sharper to drive better efficiencies and gain further market share. FY25 marked a significant milestone for 99acres as the business returned to cash profitability.
In FY25, growth in billings was driven principally by the broker community. Its share in total billings has increased from 60.40% in FY24 to 63.38% in FY25. This rise has been driven by high growth in secondary brokers in the client base, while the primary business has seen moderate growth. Importantly, the average revenue per customer (ARPU) has also increased, due to improving client delivery and premiumisation. The Company believes that the gained revenue market share in secondary business can be attributed to this growth.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS AND OUTLOOK
Indias real estate market is in a stable growth phase, driven by strong end-user demand rather than speculative investment. Looking ahead, the sector is expected to see sustained momentum, supported by favourable demographics, rapid technological advancement and enabling policy measures that are set to attract continued investment and innovation.
As India continues its growth trajectory. Tier II and Tier III cities are expected to dominate infrastructure and real estate development, along with the emergence of new satellite centres for Tier I metros. This multi-dimensional growth will also boost nascent asset classes such as
logistic hubs and healthcare infrastructure. Over the next decade, as the economy grows, the real estate industry will see substantial opportunities in shifts in consumption patterns and revenue expansion, indicating a positive outlook for the sector.
For online real estate classified companies like 99acres, these developments present several opportunities, though the market will remain competitive with continuous investments from various players to gain market share. In response, 99acres has built on its existing strategic initiatives. A major new initiative focuses on new launch solutions tailored to the needs of developers and channel partners marketing such projects. The site is regularly enhanced with more decision-making tools and content, including video content for new projects and secondary sales, methods for making informed online comparisons and a focus on re-engaging buyers. A new value-based pricing mechanism for new projects and secondary listings is being developed. Additionally, there is a focused effort to expand city coverage and increase presence in Tier II and Tier III towns. The Company continue to strategically focus on core classified businesses and not on ancillary services. With these pillars in place, the business is well-positioned for strong sustained growth in future years.
Market Overview
While India is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.45 Billion people, it is also home to one of the youngest populations, with a median age of 28.1 years1. The estimated population between the ages of 18 and 44 is pegged at around 0.6 Billion. Clearly, this demographic distribution presents a significant scope of activities in the matchmaking space, ranging from dating to matchmaking.
The matchmaking services sector in the country remains highly fragmented and unorganised. The whole matchmaking process is steeped with cultural nuances that vary widely according to the vast multi-diverse communities that comprise the countrys population. The population has significant heterogeneity in regional culture, religion, caste and creed. Essentially, India is a heady mix of diverse communities where matchmaking activities must be differentiated and tailor-made to meet the requirements of several different customer segments.
In this environment, while online service providers have been active for nearly two and a half decades, they have, till today, only penetrated around 10% of the overall market. Having said so, one is witnessing a distinct shift in market dynamics today. Indias urbanisation rate has increased from 32.4% in 2014 to 36.4% in 20232. With greater urbanisation, lifestyle patterns of the countrys youth are also witnessing a slow but steady transformation. Two such changes make a positive impact on online matchmaking. First, is the general shift in preference for online activities, which includes matchmaking. Secondly, there is the emergence of a more independent-minded younger generation, taking greater control over decisions related to marriage and choosing life partners.
Against this backdrop, matchmaking-related classifieds have gradually moved from print to digital media. With potential brides and grooms, themselves taking a more active part in the matchmaking process, Indian matchmaking websites are getting greater traction. They are emerging as a new and popular medium for seeking life partners. Consequently, the Indian online matchmaking space is witnessing steady growth. However, given the high level of market fragmentation characterised by divergent cultural nuances, it is essential for online matchmaking companies in India to adopt a highly segmented approach that focuses on delivering specific value to the different targeted communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased time spent on dating apps and higher consumer spending. Traditionally, rooted in social networking and online chatting, online dating in the post-pandemic era saw Indian singles shifting from casual interactions to seeking in-person dates. This has resulted a shift towards more serious and long-term relationships. Today, the major pool of active users is based in metro and Tier I and Tier II cities. However, users in smaller towns and rural India are also increasing exponentially.
Indias online dating app market will likely reach US$ 1.01 Billion by 2030 from US$547.9 Million in 2023, at a 9.2% CAGR. To reach out to the more serious prematchmaking dating space, the Company added Aisle to its matchmaking portfolio in FY23. This app-based high intent dating and matchmaking platform connects Indians around the world to find the right partner. (Source: Grand View Research)
The online matchmaking space is undergoing steady transformation, with technology, cultural shifts and personalised services leading the way. Several key trends are being observed in this industry.
Data-driven and Personality-focused Matchmaking
AI/ML enhance the accuracy of match suggestions based on user preferences and behaviour. ML models can identify patterns and trends that are not immediately obvious to human matchmakers. Al-powered chatbots are being integrated into matchmaking websites that can answer queries, provide match suggestions and even help set up initial conversations between potential matches. This approach improves personalisation, enhances user experience and ensures timely assistance.
Localisation and Customisation
Given the market dynamics, community-specific matchmaking platforms are gaining popularity in India. These platforms cater to specific communities unique cultural and social needs, making the matchmaking process more relevant and efficient. The sites utilise community-specific search filters, profile verification processes and matchmaking events, thereby providing a more personalised and culturally relevant experience for their users. In many ways, these community- specific platforms bridge the gap between traditional and modern matchmaking, making them particularly popular among older generations who prefer traditional matchmaking methods.
Interactive Online and Matchmaking Experiences
Virtual matchmaking events have become increasingly popular. These are organised in different forms including virtual speed dating, live sessions with relationship experts match hours, etc. They provide a platform for users to quickly meet and interact with multiple potential matches. These virtual events are especially popular among younger generations, who are more comfortable with digital interactions.
Privacy and Security Concerns
Privacy and security remain critical concerns in the online matchmaking space. Websites are investing in advanced security measures like end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication, as well as improving profile verification and womens safety features.
Business Operations
From an all-India perspective, the online matchmaking site - Jeevansathi remains one of the top three players in the segment. However, in different regions and micromarkets, different service providers have varying levels of dominance. Given the nature of the market and high levels of customer fragmentation, Jeevansathi today focuses on catering to specific regions and communities with a relatively stronger positioning in North India and has a good presence in Western India.
Since 2022, the brand has embarked on a revised business strategy, which is firmly focused on providing a differentiated experience to its users while catering to the specific demands of the core regional customer segments. Core to this differentiated offering was the introduction of free chat. This freemium model provided a solution for the biggest bottleneck across these sites; the lack of contact between potential brides and grooms in the early stages of the match-making process. The free chat option has played a major role in attracting people to this site. Over the last couple of years, this strategic initiative has started paying dividends with significant increase in onsite engagement, translating into a growth in user acquisition. The initial free chat-based onsite interactions have become the mainstay driving quality traffic to the Jeevansathi platform.
A lot of the focus in FY25 was on monetising the increased traffic flow to the site. While the free chat proposition remained, monetisation plans were developed around this offering. These included a slew of new products that feature exclusive new functionalities for paying users. Additionally, more paywalls are being tested to improve monetisation while maintaining customer engagement. To successfully achieve thistwin objective, Jeevansathi must focus on offering a high-quality matchmaking experience. This approach is being driven by putting considerable effort into developing algorithms that translate into improved matching recommendations, significantly enhancing user outcomes. Key metrics like acceptances and two-way chats on the platform continue to show healthy growth.
Free chat has also offered a more differentiated positioning of the platform, helping in significantly lowering marketing costs. The marketing cost-to-sales ratio reduced from 66.95% in FY24 to 41.20% in FY25.
CHART 10: MARKETING COSTS AS A % OF REVENUE (%)
At the heart of the revised marketing strategy is the increased emphasis on online platforms with a move away from TV and print. Many efforts have been made towards highlighting the brands core proposition on relevant online forums, focusing on more effectively reaching out to the target customer. Furthermore, Al-based tools and online mechanisms are being deployed to push sales to relevant customers, which would have been done earlier through physical sales channels.
The business continued to focus on enhancing the quality of data and provide superior customer experience to the users. This includes better user interface of apps/ websites, new features like the provision of video profiles, video/audio calling and online video-based match- hour events.
Several privacy features have been enhanced for users. The security factor of the web application is being enhanced through an online ID-based verification system. Al models are being used to clean up data and provide the best quality of recommendations on the site. With continuous efforts, spam activities on the site have been reduced significantly.
Within focus markets, the business continues to push for deeper penetration. The business has offered lower durations for membership plans, making membership more affordable yet fulfilling the overall objectives of utilising the matchmaking platform with more focused activities. Further efforts are underway to make the site more affordable with technology deployment.
Info Edge has supplemented its online matchmaking offering with a foray into the high intent app-based dating market. The Company owns a 96.31% stake in Aisle Network Pvt. Ltd. (Aisle).
Aisle has also launched several vernacular dating sites and apps, considering how a modern and young India would want to pursue love and relationships in a digital- first era. Among these were Arike, the countrys first vernacular dating app for Malayalam speakers, Anbe for Tamil users, Neetho for the Telugu populace and Neene for Kannada speakers.
Divisional Financial Performance
The financial highlight of the business in FY25 reflects the two core mantras of the business - monetisation and cost optimisation. This focus is reflected in the strong growth in the top line and the significant decrease in overall losses.
Strategic Developments and Outlook
In the matchmaking space, there is a three pronged strategy that the business is pursuing - the first is to improve the matchmaking experience of users through deployment of more advanced Al models for specific cohorts. Secondly, the platform is investing aggressively to ensure that it remains free of spam.
To give this effect, investments in Al again are a key driver along with partnerships with organisations which can help identify spam users and do that early enough. The third is to build a 360 degree marketing proposition which appeals to both parents and prospects. This is being done to ensure that the Company continues to gain share in the North India markets where Jeevansathi is the fastest growing key player. Overtime, Info Edge expects strong word of mouth to start aiding these marketing efforts.
Market Overview
In the education domain, Info Edge, through its online platform Shiksha, focuses on developing a comprehensive platform that helps the countrys student fraternity discover colleges and courses and enables them to make informed decisions that are critical for their effective higher education. In this endeavour, the site also guides students in pursuing overseas education at graduation and post-graduation levels. Essentially, the business is steadily transforming itself from merely an online classifieds-based information provider to a solutions provider for the Indian student community moving from school to college and higher education.
Business Environment
Being the worlds most populous nation, India has a remarkable demographic advantage with a substantial youth population. India has the largest population in the world in the age bracket of 5-24 years with 580 Million people, presenting a huge opportunity in the education sector. (Source: IBEF)
With the growing population in the college education age groups in the last three decades, India has witnessed a significant growth in post-class 12 education in the country. Not only has this segment of education institutions grown significantly and is catering to a much larger number of students, but they have also transformed in their ownership patterns and ways of imparting education.
There were 52,538 colleges by the end of FY25, and the number of universities increased to 1,362 in FY253.
CHART 11: EXPECTED GROWTH IN STUDENT ENROLMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION - NUMBER OF STUDENTS3 (Mn)
KEY TRENDS
In an ever-changing educational landscape, Shiksha is not only keeping pace with market dynamics but also evolving to serve the needs of students more effectively. Recognising that the journey to higher education extends beyond providing course information, Shiksha strives to offer comprehensive college and course selection guidance. This commitment ensures students have the insights and support to make informed decisions about their academic and professional futures. Below are key trends that highlight the significance of this approach:
Shift towards Greater Share of Private Colleges and Universities
Privately run universities and colleges have greater requirements to proactively reach out to the student community as they have specific commercial requirements to generate adequate returns on investments and not merely operate on financial aid. This large segment is growing and offers a strong base market to serve for entities like Shiksha.
Evolving Academic Choices and Career Paths
There is a continuing trend in wider academic choices pursued by the student fraternity in India. They have widened their horizon from traditional academic pursuits - technical, medical, legal and accounting - to courses like design, law, hospitality, and liberal arts. Even at the undergraduate level, professional degrees like computer application and business administration are gaining acceptance. The decision-making process of choosing a graduation, post-graduation and related academic pursuits is fast becoming driven to a much greater extent by the individuals informed choice set rather than defined by social norms as in the past. This approach has warranted better guidance during course selection at the secondary level of education. Understanding new courses, their structures and related professional paths warrants effective information communication, where platforms like Shiksha can play a crucial role in delivering value.
Shaping Careers in Emerging Technologies
Advanced technologies like GenAI, Robotics, Internet of Things (loT) and Blockchain are increasingly integrated into curriculum, enhancing personalised learning, virtual labs and secure credentialing. As the demand for expertise in these fields grows, expert guidance is essential for students navigating these courses. The Shiksha platform is well-positioned to support students in pursuing these evolving educational paths.
Enhancing Skill Development through Holistic Guidance
Only 42.6% of graduates were employable in 2024, a significant drop from 44.3% in 2023. While technical proficiency is satisfactory, many graduates lack key soft skills such as creativity, communication and critical thinking. To succeed in the future, students must develop a broader skill set that aligns with current job market demands. Shiksha can be vital in guiding students to enhance their employability and navigate different skill sets programmes. (Source: India Graduate Skills Index 2025 by Mercer Mettl)
India has always had a segment of the student population that strives to study abroad for graduation and higher studies. Traditionally, Indian students went to four principal countries - the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, together, they accounted for around 70% of the students who went abroad. They used to offer various study opportunities, post-study work rights and the possibility of immigration. However, these countries have been facing local economic slowdowns in the last couple of years and the need to drive jobs for their citizens has become a priority. High VISA rejections by the US and strained relations with Canada have adversely affected affecting student flow. In these countries, it has become more difficult for international students to get a study visa, bring family, secure post-study work rights, afford their studies, become permanent residents, and feel that policy settings are stable. In fact, as per Government of India data, Indian students studying abroad reduced by 15% from 893,000 in CY23 to 759,000 in CY24 - the reduction in the primary markets included 41% in Canada, 28% in the UK, 13% in the US and 12% in Australia. This decrease was also driven by the sharp fall in rupee value, making studying abroad significantly more costly. On the other hand, certain countries like Germany, France, Finland and Japan are working on courses in English languages and attracting students from India. Students are now shifting towards Continental Europe as a preferred destination.
Consequently, the scope remains strong for end-to-end support for students thriving for studying abroad; however, the dynamics are changing, which the Info Edge Study Abroad platform is working hard on dealing with. The Shiksha platform has consequently focused more on growth in the domestic market while sustaining activities on the study abroad front.
Business Operations
Shiksha has evolved from a simple information hub for students considering post-school education into a robust platform that provides in-depth insights on careers, exams, colleges and courses. It is noteworthy that Shiksha offers counselling services specifically for study-abroad opportunities. For those interested in domestic education, the platform primarily serves as a valuable informational resource, helping students navigate their options effectively. It is important to note that while the focus is on attracting students and providing them value-added services in their endeavour to seek a good fit for higher education, the education-providing colleges and higher institutes are also significant sources of revenues. Essentially, their courses are supported and promoted through the website. As student behaviour changes with widening choice sets driven by cultural and demographic changes, Shiksha positions itself best to serve these needs.
The business focuses on creating student engagement and providing quality value-added counselling. The core to generating traffic on the site is the quality of the information provided on the site and the ease of navigation that helps get the correct answers for users. At Shiksha, constant efforts continue to improve this aspect of the offering and keep it in sync with user requirements. The efforts on this front have borne fruit. As of March 31, 2025, Shiksha leads the industry with a share of around 51%. The Business recognises that traffic growth on the website supersedes revenue growth, given that a large part of the information is provided free, which is essential to generate online traffic. Consequently, the focus is now on increasingly monetising this traffic flow. The business has always relied on the quality of its content and the widgets that support this content translation into effective Q&As for the students.
In recent years, the platform has undergone extensive revamping of its content and user interface to offer a more customer-centric service, establishing itself as a leading resource for career and college selection within the Indian student community.
The content has been broken up into modular forms to answer specific queries much faster and more accurately. The widgets have been redesigned to provide much better guidance on course comparisons that help the user decide on their preferred education institute.
Major initiatives and activities focus on translating this traffic to leads that generate revenue. To successfully achieve this, it is imperative to improve the level of engagement of users on the site. Some of the key initiatives on this front include:
A Specialised exam preparation service for admissions, which includes alerts and notifications on different entrance exams, information on individual exams, sample papers and college coverage.
A A gradual movement of content from text to video has significantly improved student engagement, although, in the initial phase.
The leads transform into support-seeking activities for students, such as counselling assignments for assistance in the application process and the students final enrollment in the specific course. This function is being strengthened with:
A The development and positioning of an effective counselling team for the domestic business that provides significant value in terms of comparisons of prospective courses.
A There is a gradual development of more productive counselling, which is chat providing a much better value proposition for the students than the traditional search engine-based mechanism.
Al tools are being effectively deployed to transform the traditional ‘Shiksha Assistant service to an upgraded version called ‘Shiksha GPT. The revised service has a much better understanding of the students requirements and within a few months of its launch in FY25, the feedback on the quality of responses for the user group based on a sample survey has increased by 25% and is today at 85% levels. With a better understanding of the intent of a student, there has been an improvement in the quality of answers, with queries becoming much more personalised. There is also a pool of suggested Q&As that the users can use.
The Company intends to provide comprehensive support for Indian students pursuing admission to international colleges at both the undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) levels. While recent global geopolitical developments have created challenges in foreign education—such as increased immigration regulations in key destinations like Canada and the US, higher visa rejection rates and declining job prospects—there is still a promising outlook for the study abroad sector. Despite these headwinds, the UK and Australia are experiencing a strong recovery in student interest. The Company has strategically upgraded its offerings and is well-positioned for a revival in demand as global circumstances improve and new destinations gain popularity. Notably, around 85% of the Companys platform serves postgraduate students, focusing on enhancing both efficacy and utilisation. This insight reinforces the Companys commitment to navigating current challenges while looking forward to a bright future in international education opportunities.
The business is now developing with a student-centric approach where the focus is on more exhaustive coverage that effectively provides efficient outcomes for students; developing the comprehensive content, making it more user-friendly to interpret; utilising Al to understand student needs and service them better; working on enhancing the efficacy of back-end teams servicing the business; and building on the active relationship with private educational institutions who have the need and focus of promoting their institutions.
Divisional Financial Performance
While prospective students have free access to all information on the site, the business generates revenues primarily from two sources:
> Branding and advertising solutions for colleges and universities (UG, PG, post-PG). It has received advertising revenues from both Indian and foreign entities.
> Lead generation: Colleges and their agents buy potential students or applicants details. Full counselling services are provided for international university partners.
> Value-added service regarding career guidance and enrolment-specific charges received from education institutions.
In FY25, the Companys classifieds business, Shiksha, delivered a steady performance, driven by strong momentum in the domestic segment. Billings from the domestic business grew by 26.3%, supported by increasing demand from new private universities and colleges and increasing expansion of offerings beyond traditional engineering programmes. Flowever, the study abroad segment faced headwinds due to global geopolitical developments, particularly in key destinations like the US and Canada.
Strategic Developments and Outlook
The business remains fundamentally focused on strategic investments, emphasising the efficient utilisation of resources. On the Shiksha platform, particular attention is given to investments in video creation and development to enhance existing content. These client-oriented videos are being produced in-house and will be prominently featured across the site to improve customer interaction. Additionally, the Shiksha Domestic app has been developed to support the core business. It is expected to play a pivotal role, with ongoing enhancements aimed at driving accelerated growth.
The platform is also focusing on creating a competitive edge by effectively deploying Al-based tools and data science. This is especially evident on the Study Abroad platform, where efforts are being made to provide more self-service options for students. The interface is being enhanced to allow students to make informed decisions throughoutthe counselling process, including investments in workforce automation, prompting and tools.
These improvements will enhance the efficiency of the counselling service and encourage students to adopt a self-service approach across the platform. Through these initiatives, the business aims to increase traffic share and position the platform for substantial future growth, all while maintaining a focus on capital efficiency and improving cash generation.
Advancing with Artificial Intelligence
The Company has been leveraging Al and ML for many years to enhance resume parsing and semantic search. In fact, Al has been deployed at Info Edge since mid - 2010s. With over 130 Al and data science professionals, Info Edge is set for transformation, using its data assets to gain a competitive edge and drive innovation and growth.
Info Edges Unique Al Advantage
1. Extensive and unmatched data assets built over the years.
2. Ability to deploy newer technologies across businesses and replicate best practices across verticals.
3. Balance sheet strength to fund initiatives that individual businesses may find challenging to support.
The Companys Approach to Al is Centred around Four Core Priorities
1. Driving efficiency, productivity and personalisation across existing products.
2. Developing new features to enhance user engagement.
3. Creating entirely new products and monetisation opportunities.
4. Leveraging Al internally to improve operational efficiency, decision-making speed and execution agility.
Info Edge has implemented over 500 AI/ML models to enhance features like search, matching accuracy and personalisation, resulting in a notable increase in productivity and user experience. The Company also leverages large language models (LLMs) to develop new features, further boosting productivity.
Al enhances products by optimising B2B client delivery, boosting recruiter productivity on platforms like Naukri, generating leads on 99acres and increasing applicant
conversion rates on Shiksha. For B2C, it improves user engagement with targeted job searches, refines property discovery and enhances matches acceptance rates on Jeevansathi. Info Edge also leverages GenAI across multiple use cases including content creation for Naukri Minis, tailored articles for job seekers and 99acres users and the development of data-driven marketing campaigns across all business verticals.
Al in Recruitment businesses
Motivated by the success of Al in understanding resumes, the Naukri business started leveraging Al to improve its search engines in mid-2010s. With the help of a special field of Al called deep learning, the Naukri search engine became the most popular job search portal in India.
PERSONALISED JOB RECOMMENDATIONS
Al-powered notifications and emails provide job seekers with tailored recommendations, enhancing the user experience with personalised job alerts.
ENHANCED RECRUITMENT WITH RESDEX SEARCH
Like Google for general search, Resdex specialises in talent search. Powered by Al engines, Resdex, converts candidate profiles into the proprietary Naukri Taxonomy and ranks top matches for recruiter needs. It delivers results that are faster than competitors, making it Indias one of the best recruitment solution. Currently, Resdexs Al understands over 5 Million skill variants and more than 5.4 Million designation variants. Moreover, it personalises talent search experience based on recruiters behaviour and preferences.
FASTER CANDIDATE SHORTLISTING
Al tools allow recruiters to shortlist candidates faster, significantly increasing efficiency and processing Millions of daily job applications.
JOB DESCRIPTION GENERATOR
Al-driven tool customises job listings and analyses candidate profiles, boosting recruiter productivity by improving the relevance of job descriptions.
PROFILE RECOMMENDER
Al highlights relevant job opportunities for candidates by analysing profiles, ensuring better job matches and improving user experience.
MOCK INTERVIEW AND RESUME WRITING TOOL
The Al-powered mock interview tool assists nearly 1 Million users monthly, helping job seekers with interview preparation and providing resume and cover letter generation for 1.5 Million users each month.
E-ASSESSMENT ENHANCEMENT
Al-generated multiple-choice questions in DoSelect optimise the evaluation process for candidate assessments, ensuring more accurate testing.
DOSELECT SPEECHSENSE
Powered by GenAI, this innovative product seeks to help HR professionals evaluate language proficiency, a crucial skill for effective communication in the workplace.
AI-REX
Naukris Agentic Al that automates repetitive tasks in large-scale hiring processes, increasing hiring efficiency and speed.
DATA PRODUCTS
Provides actionable insights into talent planning, salary insights and attrition, offering reports tailored for large enterprises.
Al in Other Businesses
> For the 99acres business, tne leads ranked by Al systems and guard-railed by traditional systems are nowthe highest quality leads sold to customers.
- Around 90% of property recommendations on 99acres are now powered by Al and this has resulted in 20%+ more expressions of interest compared to the earlier system using only classical ML.
- Voice over video Al further enhances lead generation for both B2C and B2B telesales.
- The Company utilises LLMs to generate real estate articles and project content and boost property postings.
- Software engineers use LLM-based coding solutions to increase productivity and Al agents manage customer inquiries.
- Additionally, LLMs help create marketing content and screen listings for quality assessment.
> The recommendation system on the Jeevansathi app is now fully powered by Al, resulting in a significant increase in acceptances. This improvement is driving a much better user experience and contributing to strong revenue growth, as higher acceptance rates lead to increased conversion of non-paying users into paying customers.
> Shikshas Al system connects serious leads with relevant counsellors, boosting conversion rates for educational institutions. ShikshaGPT, an advanced chatbot, has significantly increased customer satisfaction rates by 25% to over 85%.
Al technologies are still relatively new, and the entire industry is exploring innovative ways in which they can drive better business outcomes. While Al presents a promising new revenue driver, monetising these improvements remains at a nascent stage and is dependent on market conditions. At Info Edge, a strong foundation has already been built through over a decade of focused investment in Al. This will be strategically leveraged to drive the next phase of growth.
Investments
Strategic Investments
Info Edge operates in a technology-based service offering space. This is a business domain where markets continue to evolve and there is a continuous cycle of innovation and disruption. Consequently, there is a need to regularly track external developments and take requisite actions. Broadly, these investments fulfil one of the following objectives:
> Vertical expansion (towards customer or supplier for increasing wallet share or reducing costs)
> Horizontal expansion (into new geographic markets or product lines)
> Market consolidation
> Adding new capabilities to strengthen current offerings or fill a gap (technology, marketing, distribution and research and development)
At Info Edge, these investments and acquisitions are classified as strategic investments. They are made with clear objectives related to both financial returns and strategic synergy with existing business lines. The management of such investments is handled by a dedicated corporate development team, which proactively identifies opportunities, develops investment theses, executes transactions and monitors performance. The initial investment thesis is reviewed and evaluated by the Board of Directors of the Company. Only upon receiving Board approval does the Company proceed to negotiate and close the deal.
TABLE 6: STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS PORTFOLIO
Investee Company |
Prominent Domain names |
Carrying value of investment as of March 31,2025 ( Rs.Mn) | Diluted and converted shareholding % |
Aisle Network Private Limited |
https://www.aisle.co/ |
821.17 | 96.31 |
Zwayam Digital Private Limited |
https://www.zwayam.com/ |
1,284.11 | 100.00 |
Axilly Labs Private Limited |
https://doselect.com/ |
229.61 | 100.00 |
Terralytics Analysis Private Limited |
https://www.tealindia.in/ |
86.98 | 23.03 |
Sunrise Mentors Private Limited |
https://www.codingninjas.com/ |
1,202.08 | 54.64 |
NoPaperForms Solutions Private Limited |
https://www.meritto.com/ |
336.64 | 47.93 |
International Educational Gateway Private Limited |
https://www.univariety.com/ |
10.00 | 47.12 |
Total |
3,970.59 |
Financial Investments
Info Edges operating business is generating healthy positive cash flows, basis which the Company has decided to expand focus from strategic investments in core sectors to financial investments across diverse industries. It aims to back committed entrepreneurs building technology- led solutions with the potential to scale into sustainable businesses, primarily based in India. Info Edge would act as a purely financial investor in these ventures.
The Companys financial investment portfolio is divided into two segments: (i) Financial investments directly through the Balance Sheet, or through wholly-owned subsidiaries, and (ii) Financial investments through AIFs. Info Edge participates in these businesses through varied equity structures, with the objective of supporting long-term growth and value realisation over a typical horizon of 10 years or longer.
The Company maintains an arms length relationship with portfolio operations, while offering external support to help these businesses emerge as market leaders. Post an initial development phase that typically extends over multiple years, these ventures are expected to scale and achieve operational stability - unlocking significant value in the process, which often culminates in an IPO or a strategic acquisition. Info Edge follows a measured approach to gauge the risk-return profile of each investment while building this investment portfolio.
INVESTMENTS THROUGH BALANCE SHEET DIRECTLY AND THROUGH WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARIES
As of March 31, 2025, Info Edge has active financial investments in two ventures that have successfully gone public - Eternal and PB Fintech. The total cost of investments in these two businesses stands at Rs.7,222.84 Million, and the market value of the Companys stake in these entities collectively is Rs.333,083.82 Million.
TABLE 7: FINANCIAL INVESTEE COMPANY PORTFOLIO STATUS - LISTED COMPANIES
| Diluted Shareholding | Cost of Investments as of March 31,2025 ( Rs. Mn) | Market Value of Investments as of March 31,2025 ( Rs. Mn) | |
Eternal |
12.43% | 1,464.80 | 241,712.29 |
PB Fintech |
12.52% | 5,758.04 | 91,371.53 |
Total |
7,222.84 | 333,083.82 |
TABLE 8: FINANCIAL INVESTEE COMPANY PORTFOLIO STATUS - UNLISTED COMPANIES
Investee Company |
Prominent Domain names |
Carrying value of investment as of March 31,2025 ( Rs. Mn) | Diluted and converted shareholding % |
Agstack Technologies Private Limited |
http://www.gramophone.in/ |
425.19 | 43.44 |
Printo Document Services Private Limited |
http://www.printo.in/ |
365.61 | 32.80 |
Shop Kirana E Trading Private Limited |
http://shopkirana.com/ |
1,271.72 | 26.14 |
Metis Eduventures Private Limited |
https://www.adda247.com/ |
1,441.88 | 25.88 |
LQ Global Services Private Limited |
https://www.legitquest.com/ |
60.00 | 23.07 |
Llama Logisol Private Limited |
https://shipsy.in/ |
683.87 | 22.56 |
Crisp Analytics Private Limited |
https://lumiq.ai/ |
26.98 | 2.50 |
Unbox Robotics Labs Private Limited |
https://unboxrobotics.com/ |
116.18 | 5.70 |
Attentive Al Solutions Private Limited |
https://attentive.ai/ |
37.10 | 4.43 |
Brainsight Technology Private Limited |
https://www.brainsightai.com/ |
50.83 | 5.27 |
Ray IOT Solutions Inc. |
https://www.rayiot.org/ |
69.01 | 12.63 |
Skylark Drones Private Limited |
https://skylarkdrones.com/ |
12.00 | 1.10 |
String Bio Private Limited |
https://www.stringbio.com/ |
165.00 | 0.93 |
Sploot Private Limited |
https://sploot.space/ |
119.47 | 29.65 |
Vyuti Systems Private Limited |
https://www.cynlr.com/ |
102.50 | 5.06 |
Ubifly Technologies Private Limited |
https://eplane.ai/ |
128.42 | 4.19 |
VLCC |
https://vlcc.com/ |
537.85 | 1.24 |
SkyServe Inc. |
https://www.skyserve.ai/ |
42.06 | 5.26 |
Nexstem India Private Limited |
https://www.nexstem.ai/ |
41.96 | 5.00 |
Greytip Software Private Limited* |
https://www.greythr.com/ |
650.00 | 18.71 |
Total |
6,347.63 |
*Note: Greytip Software Private Limited has been classified as financial investment from JV in Q2FY25 subsequent to majority stake acquisition by external investor through primary funding as well as secondary purchase.
INVESTMENTS THROUGH AIFs
Info Edge Venture Fund (Fund I),
Info Edge started investing through the AIF route in FY20, through its first fund named Info Edge Venture Fund (Fund I), a SEBI-registered Category II AIF vehicle. The first Scheme of Fund I, namely IE Venture Fund I (lEVF-l) was capitalised with Rs.7,575 Million being invested by Info Edge and MacRitchie Investments Pte. Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd. (Temasek). Smartweb Internet Services Limited, a wholly - owned subsidiary of the Company acts as an Investment Manager/Sponsor to this AIF.
The investment strategy for Fund I has been to focus on early-stage investments in tech-led and tech-enabled startups, primarily operating in India. The fund looks for founders with deep customer insights that are trying to solve unsolved problems. The ideas should be innovative/IP-led with a viable business model and moat that deepens over time. The Fund prefers to be the first institutional investor in a company, with entry cheque sizes of US$500,000 - US$5 Million at pre-Seed to Series A stage. Whilethe initial investment in a portfolio company is typically small, the philosophy is to double down on portfolio companies that are doing well. Most follow-on rounds are led by external investors, and the fund invests alongsidethem.
In FY22, Info Edge launched a second Scheme to invest in the emerging winners from IEVF-1 with the objective of defending and increasing the shareholding in companies that were doing well and raising multiple rounds of funding from external investors. The Scheme, namely IE Venture Fund Follow-on I has been capitalised with Rs.7,560 Million being invested by Info Edge and MacRitchie Investments Pte. Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek.
Fund I has invested in 29 startups and has deployed a total of Rs.12,521.87 Million from both Schemes till March 31, 2025.18 out of 29 portfolio companies have secured follow-on funding from other marquee investors. These subsequent rounds have been priced at a higher valuation than the Funds entry valuation, based on significant business improvement. Valuation mark-up in this portfolio has been significant and has come on the back of underlying business performance of portfolio companies. Some of the significant investments made through Fund I include:
Geniemode Global Private Limited (Geniemode)
Geniemode is a B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplace that enables global brands and retailers in furniture, lifestyle, fashion and other ancillary categories to source from manufacturers in India and South East
Asia. This is a large market opportunity with significant inefficiencies across discovery, quality, timely delivery and payments. A technology-enabled platform like Geniemode can solve all these challenges, improve the experience for buyers/suppliers and build a high- quality business. The company works with hundreds of factories on the supply side spread across India and SEA and hundreds of global buyers based out of the US, the EU and Latin America, etc. In a short span of time, they have onboarded multiple marquee logos globally. Its a full stack e-commerce platform with end-to-end ownership of designing, manufacturing, logistics and payments while being asset light. The company has been scaling well since its investment in 2021 and has established market leadership in India. Over the next few years, the company will scale both the demand and supply side and increase dependency of the stakeholders on its platform to increase their moat.
Shiprocket Limited (Shiprocket)
Shiprocket is Indias largest e-commerce shipping solution trusted by 2.7 Lakh+ brands and entrepreneurs for lowest shipping rates, widest reach and best customer service. They have a comprehensive product suite for small, medium and large e-commerce businesses, from logistics (intercity, hyperlocal, cross-border) to warehousing to returns & refunds. Over the past two years, they have also built software suite for these merchants to acquire and retain their end customers, manage inventory better and improve customer experience. The adoption of these software products is very robust and allows Shiprocket to capture more wallet share from their existing customers. As e-commerce penetration in India grows over the next few years, it is poised to grow very well with improvement in margins.
Intellihealth Solutions Private Limited (Truemeds) Truemedsisthe largest telehealth platform in the generics segment in India with a mission to democratise medicine purchases for chronic patients. Truemeds has built a proprietary algorithm to match and recommend best- value alternate brands to its customers. Truemeds has recorded 600%+ monthly revenue growth in the past three years, serving over 4 Million customers. Truemeds customers save approximately 47% on their medicine bills and the savings can go as high as 70%. That is a lifechanging number for an average Indian chronic patient. India has over 25 Crore chronic patients spending between 15%-20% of their income on medical bills. With 95% of medicine spent out-of-pocket, patients have an urgent need to reduce their medicine bills. This presents a large opportunity for Truemeds to become a household name for medicine purchases in India.
Synopsis of Fund I Investments
Investee Company |
Trade Name |
Description |
Aftershoot Private Limited |
AfterShoot |
Al-powered culling and editing software for photographers |
Airblack Technologies Private Limited |
Airblack |
An edtech company focusing on creators |
Attentive Inc. |
Attentive |
An aerial intelligence startup focusing on property insights |
Bandhoo Solutions and Services Private Limited |
Bandhoo |
A tech solution that connects stakeholders in construction ecosystem |
Sanghvi Beauty & Technologies Private Limited |
Myglamm |
B2C brand offering multi-category beauty products |
Digivriddhi Technologies Private Limited |
DGV |
Neobank focusing on dairy farmers |
Dotpe Private Limited |
DotPe |
SaaS and payments product to digitise 020 commerce |
Esports Holdings Inc. |
FanClash |
Fantasy platform for esports |
FirsthiveTech Corporation |
Firsthive |
Enterprise SaaS offering Customer Data Platform for omni-channel companies |
Geniemode Global Private Limited |
Geniemode |
B2B e-commerce platform for cross-border e-commerce |
Le Travenues Technology Limited (Formerly: Le Traveneus Technology Private Limited) |
Ixigo |
Full stack OTA focused on the next Billion users |
CRISP Analytics Private Limited |
Lumiq |
AI/ML-based enterprise SaaS platform focused on BFSI sector |
Elemento Learning Technologies Private Limited |
NextLeap |
Growth-focused L&D courses for experienced professionals |
Biz Hero India Private Limited |
NowPurchase |
A B2B foundry procurement and optimisation platform |
Onebanc Technologies Private Limited |
OneBanc |
A neobank focused on corporate employees |
Polymerize Pte. Limited |
Polymerize |
Deep tech materials informatics SaaS startup focused on polymers industry |
Apport Software Solutions Private Limited |
Quicksell |
Catalogue management SaaS enabling SMB digitisation |
Qyuki Digital Media Private Limited |
Qyuki |
Digital creator focused platform for monetisation of influencer-led products, services and content |
Recur Technologies Pte. Limited |
Recur Club |
Marketplace for trading subscription revenue into upfront cashflow |
Rusk Media Private Limited |
Rusk |
Digital media company targeting Gen Z audience |
Shiprocket Limited |
Shiprocket |
End-to-end shipping management platform for D2C |
(Formerly: Bigfoot Retail Solutions Private Limited) |
brands and e-commerce sellers |
|
Skylark Drones Private Limited |
Skylark |
A drones company providing worksite intelligence for large infrastructure companies |
TartanHQ Solutions Private Limited |
Tartan |
Consent-driven employment and income verification API |
Intellihealth Solutions Private Limited |
Truemeds |
e-pharmacy focused on generic medicine |
Bizcon Innovations Private Limited |
Yojak |
B2B e-commerce marketplace for finishing building materials |
Gozing Technology Private Limited |
Zingbus |
App-based intercity bus ticket booking platform |
Odicea Distribution Technologies Private Limited |
IK |
Hyperlocal omni-channel grocery chain |
Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited (Formerly: Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Private Limited) |
Bluestone |
Omni-channel D2C fast fashion jewellery platform |
Info Edge Capital (Fund II)
With the success of Fund I, Info Edge launched Info Edge Capital (Fund II) in FY22 with a larger fund size. The first Scheme of Fund II, namely IE Venture Investment Fund II (IEVI Fund II) was capitalised with Rs.12,716.25 Million being invested by Info Edge and two other investors. Smartweb Internet Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
the Company acts as an Investment Manager/Sponsor to this AIF. The strategy in Fund II has been similar to Fund I with a focus on investing in tech-enabled startups in India. In terms of sectors, the fund has been investing across e-commerce, omnichannel retail, fintech, SaaS, Al, gaming, EV, cybersecurity among other sectors. So far, Rs.5,919.67 Million has been deployed across 35 startups till March 31, 2025. Some of the significant investments madethrough Fund II include:
Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited (Bluestone)
Founded in 2011, Bluestone is a fast-growing omnichannel jewellery retailer in India with a portfolio of 10,000+ designs across rings, pendants, earrings and other products. It offers private label, proprietary designed jewellery to its customers via its online application and a network of 190+ stores spread across 75+ cities in India. The Companys majority of revenue comes from diamond studded jewellery, leading to industry-leading gross margins. Bluestone also has an in-house supply chain with two manufacturing plants based across Mumbai and Jaipur. Company started as a pure play online jeweller, but started its offline stores in 2018, which has given it a tremendous boost, making it one of the fastest growing jewellers in the non-bridal jewellery segment in the country. With the rapidly growing share of organised players and casual wear segment in the overall Indian jewellery market, the business future prospects look very promising.
Synopsis of IEVI Fund II Investments
Investee Company |
Trade Name |
Description |
Anscer Robotics Private Limited |
Anscer |
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for industry use cases |
AppSentinel Inc. |
Appsentinel |
API Security Platform for enterprises |
Ascend Bizcap Private Limited |
Ascend Capital |
EV Financing NBFC focusing on L3 (E-rickshaws) and L5 financing |
Autodit Private Limited |
Autodit |
SaaS for compliance and audit automation |
Gamingverse Private Limited |
Avatar Life |
Casual real money gaming for metaverse |
Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited (Formerly: Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Private Limited) |
Bluestone |
Omni-channel D2C fast fashion jewellery platform |
Brance Technologies Private Limited |
30 Sundays |
Al-powered travel discovery and booking platform targeted at couples |
GoBuyEazzify India Private Limited |
BuyEazzy |
B2C marketplace for BPC products in Tier II/III+ cities |
Threefifty PPM Technologies Private Limited |
Calculus Carbon |
Digital carbon market intelligence tool and marketplace for carbon credits and other environmental commodities |
Chattybao Technologies Private Limited |
Chattybao |
WhatsApp e-commerce enabler |
Clean Electric Private Limited |
Clean Electric |
Developer of fast-charging EV battery technology |
Creso Technologies Private Limited |
Creso |
Fintech platform for mutual fund distributors |
Metacircles Technologies Private Limited |
CultureCircle |
Marketplace for luxury products |
Dview Technologies Private Limited |
Dview |
Unified data platform for mid-market companies |
BiznBiz Technologies Private Limited |
Elchemy |
B2B specialty chemicals marketplace |
Follifusion Health Private Limited |
Evoke |
Chain of hair restoration clinics |
Recreations Lab Private Limited |
FunStop Games |
Casual gaming studio creating easy to play, puzzle- based, casual games |
Gnani Innovations Private Limited |
Gnani |
Voice first conversational Al platform |
Growcoms Private Limited |
Growcoms |
B2B e-commerce marketplace for spices |
STK Credit Private Limited |
Inprime |
Tech & data driven financial services company for the prime layer of informal customers |
Intemo Technologies Private Limited |
Intemo |
Vertical SaaS for Freight Forwarders (FFs) covering procurement to customer booking engine |
Matiks Mental Arithmetic Private Limited |
Matiks |
Mental maths platform |
Mirana Innovations Private Limited |
Mirana |
App-enabled immersive toys |
02B Community India Private Limited |
Misfits |
Online community platform connecting users with similar interests for online/offline activities |
Beeworks Softwares Private Limited |
Osfin |
SaaS for financial reconciliation and AR/AP automation |
CogniAl Private Limited |
Phot.ai |
Al-based creative automation platform for e-commerce sellers |
Revspot Technologies Private Limited |
RevSpot Al |
Account-based Marketing tool for B2C companies |
Shipglobal Express Private Limited |
Shipglobal |
Global shipping service for Indian SMEs and e-commerce sellers |
Usar Commerce Tech Private Limited |
Shoppin |
Multi-modal search platform for fashion discovery |
Shorttok Inc. |
Shorttok |
Automated storytelling Short-form Video SaaS platform for media and content companies |
Superv Technologies Private Limited |
Swageazy |
E-commerce marketplace for swag/gifting |
Farmjunction Marketing Private Limited |
Tractor Junction |
B2B e-commerce marketplace for used tractors |
Transitry Pte. Limited |
Transitry |
Nature-based carbon credits from regenerative agri practices and high-quality credits for large enterprises |
Lorem Ipsum Software Private Limited |
Trimpixel |
On-ground retail intelligence and analytics |
Capital 2B (‘C2B)
Info Edge also launched a Deep Tech and IP led fund, smaller than Fund II, called Capital 2B (C2B)- The first Scheme of C2B, namely Capital 2B Fund I (C2B Fund I), was capitalised with 76,378.13 Million being invested by Info Edge and two other investors. Smartweb Internet Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company acts as an Investment Manager/Sponsorto this AIF. A total of ~f1,896 Million has been deployed in 18 companies till March 31,2025.
Synopsis of C2B Fund I Investments
Investee Company |
Trade Name |
Description |
Ahammune Biosciences Private Limited |
Ahammune |
Building innovative therapeutic solutions to restore skin health |
Beatoven Private Limited |
Beatoven |
Al-based audio tool for content creators and podcasters |
Green Enabled IT Solutions Private Limited |
Blubirch |
Returns management platform for retailers |
Botsync Technologies Private Limited |
Botsync |
Autonomous robots and factory automation |
Ncome Tech Solutions Private Limited |
Castler |
Escrow-based payment solutions for various use cases |
Dview Technologies Private Limited |
Dview |
Unified data platform for mid-market companies |
Finarkein Analytics Private Limited |
Finarkein |
Data analytics platform |
Kloudlite Labs Private Limited |
Kloudlite |
SDLC environment platform for dev, test, staging and production |
Knowl Labs Private Limited |
Knowl |
Subscriptions for developer documentation tools |
Kreator 3D Printer and Solutions Private Limited |
Sytolabs |
3D bio-printing |
Fermedicius Labs Private Limited |
Leumas |
On-demand manufacturing provider for personal care and nutrition |
Manastu Space Technologies Private Limited |
Manastu |
Space propulsion system development |
Matter Motor Works Private Limited |
Matter Motors |
Electric motor bike and battery tech |
Neuracle Health Private Limited (Formerly: Stimveda Neurosciences Private Limited) |
Stimveda |
Solutions for neuropsychiatric conditions |
Metamorphosys Technologies Private Limited |
Metamorphosys |
Software products and middleware platforms for the insurance industry |
Pantherun Technologies Private Limited |
Pantherun |
IP for secure Ethernet communication that works on/off chips |
Tangentup Labs Private Limited |
Piiko |
Selling CBC and biochemistry test machines to lab collection centres |
Getclarity Fintech Services Private Limited |
Supermoney |
API-based supply chain channel financing platform |
Corporate Functions
Info Edge is a portfolio of brands with offerings across different markets. While each of the different businesses operate with their own teams, there are certain core centralised functions that not only play a role of integrating the businesses under a central corporate entity but also provide critical functional inputs leveraging economies of scale. These are the primary corporate functions-human resources management and development, facilities and administration, branding and marketing, finance and treasury, product and the back-end IT Infra team.
Human Resource
In FY25, Info Edge reinforced its commitment to building a future-ready, high-performance organisation through focused investments in talent acquisition, leadership development, performance transformation and employee engagement.
TALENT ACQUISITION
The Company significantly expanded its talent pool by augmenting hiring across critical functions such as engineering, data science, business intelligence, product, sales and design. Notably, the data science team grew by 45% during the year. Sales hiring was strengthened through a Pan-India Internship Programme for flagship businesses Naukri and 99acres, along with participation in national talent initiatives such as the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the Prime Ministers Internship Scheme (PMIS).
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Learning and development efforts gained momentum through the Companys LEAD (Learning and Engagement for Accelerated Development) framework, covering enterprise programmes, function-specific learning, self- paced options and peer learning initiatives. Over 5,500 participants engaged in structured learning journeys, clocking 31,000+ learning hours. Signature programmes like iRISE, iLead, APEX and IGNITE continued to build leadership capability, while new initiatives such as DRISM fostered customer-centric design thinking. Senior HR leaders were certified under the Hogan Assessment, strengthening talent decision-making capabilities.
STRENGTHENING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employee engagement remained a corefocus, as reflected in the Companys annual iSpeak survey, which achieved a score of 89.25%. Significant positive improvements were recorded in areas such as career advancement, recognition and managerial effectiveness.
MERIT AWARDS 2024
The annual Merit Awards 2024 celebrated outstanding contributions across the organisation. Awards for outstanding team performance, Individual Excellence and Inspirational Leadership were presented at the awards ceremony held in March 2025, at the Hyatt Regency, Delhi.
The Info Edge Merit Awards is a premier platform that recognises and rewards exceptional innovation and significant business impact. Each year, these awards elevate industry standards, establish benchmarks for future endeavours and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement within Info Edge.
This event provides an exclusive platform for the Team Excellence Award winners to present their innovative projects to fellow associates. It highlights the ingenuity and dedication of the Companys teams and inspires a culture of excellence throughout the organisation.
At Info Edge, building a strong and future-ready leadership pipeline remains a key focus. Multiple initiatives are undertaken throughout the year to strengthen leadership capabilities across levels.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
During the year, the Company launched Vision 360: Reflections for Growth in partnership with Korn Ferry - a developmental 360-degree feedback programme offering senior leaders deep personal insights and one- on-one coaching for continuous improvement. With new programmes like DRISM and Hogan Certification for senior leaders, the Company unlocked fresh ways of thinking about leadership.
During the year a leadership offsite was held to feature a hands-on Design Thinking workshop and an insightful session on leadership through ancient wisdom. These initiatives reflect the Companys ongoing commitment to nurturing strong, values-driven leaders.
TRANSFORMING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
FY25 also marked a transformational shift in performance management with the introduction of MyGPS - Grow. Perform. Succeed. This agile, people-centric platform features real-time collaborative goal-setting, continuous feedback mechanisms and a unique Anytime Feedback functionality that promotes transparency and recognition. The platform also introduced Growth Check-Ins to separate developmental discussions from performance evaluations. Additionally, the Al-powered chatbot Maven supported users with structured inputs and smart nudges, fostering richer performance conversations.
As the business environment evolved rapidly. Info Edge continued to drive cross-functional collaboration through OKRs in its recruitment business and POD-based working models in 99acres, Shiksha and Jeevansathi, ensuring a culture of innovation, agility and accountability.
Facilities and Administration
A major factor contributing to Info Edges success is the organised back-end pan India facilities and administration network that supports the technology driven products. As the Company continues to become more and more technologically integrated, efforts are continuously being undertaken to manage this network more efficiently and optimise the workforce participation. Having said so, this physical presence promoting Companys sales activities across India provides a very strong platform for deeper market penetration, especially as one moves to Tier II and Tier III towns. Often, these are the pivots that support multiple brands and businesses in the Companys portfolio. By the end of FY25, Company branches increased to 113 across 80+ cities. The emphasis on spread out contact points to service the business remains but the nature has transformed with the new ways in which stakeholders have adopted to new technologies. In the present business environment, this network is playing an even more critical role in further expanding the reach of the Companys services into smaller towns and markets.
Marketing and Branding
In FY25, Info Edges brands continued to set new benchmarks in marketing impact, combining cultural relevance, deep user insight and GenAI technology to create powerful and resonant marketing programmes that drove both consumer engagement and business outcomes across diverse sectors.
Naukri spearheaded this momentum with breakthrough branding initiatives that positioned Naukri as a comprehensive career platform.
The fiscal year began with the launch of Naukris refreshed brand identity and the positioning For the Ambitious, targeting Indias career-focused Gen Z audience. This new articulation debuted during the Indian Premier League on OTT and digital platforms, achieving over 450 Million impressions and a reach of 120 Million viewers across Connected TVs and mobile devices.
This was closely followed by the Instagram first Coolest Job Ever activation in collaboration with IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where the team set out to hire their fan-in-chief via Naukris job-posting platform.
Another hugely successful initiative was ‘Hardly Working by Naukri- a stand-up comedy show hosted on JioStar OTT platform, based on workplace humour. The series delivered 2 Crore total views.
Naukris podcast property, Workwise1, continued to grow with the release of 21 new episodes in FY25, featuring notable guests such as Damodar Mall (CEO, Reliance Retail), Ajai Chowdhry (Co-founder, HCL) and Vivek Gambhir (Board Chairman, BOAT). The podcast amassed 60 Million+ streams/views on social and audio platforms.
Naukri also capitalised on pop culture moments with a Coldplay concert billboard campaign, which garnered 9 Million+ reach.
Finally, Naukris Women @ Work (WOW) initiative for International Womens Day 2025 combined on-platform engagement with a strong content push. The campaign achieved 4,000 job postings.
The year witnessed the beginning of a powerful, exciting transformation of the Companys remarketing stack, powered by GenAI technology. The Company launched custom built LLM powered Lifecycle Marketing agents trained to harvest high-value user actions like Job Application, Profile Completion, Salary Validation for dormant users - by engaging in personalised, natural language conversations with users, extracting intelligence from these chats and updating these signals to its database in real time, thereby connecting these users back to its flywheel.
99acres pivoted decisively towards a user-first growth strategy, targeting Indias booming residential real estate market, particularly in the under-construction and new launch segments. By building a full-funnel acquisition engine focused on verified, high-intent leads, 99acres delivered an increase in qualified leads. Geo-targeted, vernacular-led messaging and content-rich property journeys drove an improvement in lead conversions in priority markets. By tightly integrating content, automation and buyer insights, 99acres strengthened its leadership in the PropTech space, fuelling both business growth and brand trust. The shift made the Companys spends not just leaner, but far more conversion-focused and efficient.
Jeevansathi redefined modern matchmaking marketing with a refreshing, witty approach that struck a chord with Indias urban singles. The Company doubled down on content marketing by exploring branded content integrations, culture/topical marketing, 70+ influences/ content creator collabs and BAU social strategy to create category relevant content on Meta and YouTube for parents and prospects. The now-iconic Delhi Metro audio campaign transformed mundane daily commutes into delightful, viral social moments. On-ground activations at Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh concerts creatively engaged young audiences through branded water giveaways, amplifying reach with playful and shareable content. The Manifestation Auto campaign in Mumbai closed the year on a warm, humorous note, sparking widespread organic shares and user-generated content. These culturally- rooted initiatives elevated Jeevansathis positioning as an empathetic and trusted partner in the search for a partner.
Across platforms, Info Edges marketing in FY25 demonstrated a bold blend of creativity, data-driven precision, automation & GenAI and cultural resonanceensuring deeper user connections, efficient growth, thus powering the next phase of growth for its brands.
Data Privacy and Security
As an organisation. Info Edges mission regarding data security and privacy is to prioritise the protection of its customers information and build a trustworthy platform. The Company acknowledges that data security and privacy are paramount in todays digital landscape and is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards to safeguard the personal and financial information of all users. This mission extends to the Companys investors, as it believes that ensuring data security and privacy is not only a legal and ethical responsibility but also a fundamental aspect of its long-term success.
The initiatives undertaken include:
> Customer Data is protected by implementing robust security measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of customer data. This includes employing encryption, access controls and regular security audits to safeguard sensitive information.
> User data is not shared across verticals; each business operates with strict data privacy protocols to ensure user information remains independently managed and secure.
> State-of-the-art technologies, industry best practices and comprehensive security measures are deployed to protect customer data from unauthorised access, breaches, or misuse.
> Investments are regularly done on security audits; vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities proactively.
> Efforts are undertaken in educating employees about the importance of data security and privacy. Regular training programmes ensure that the Companys workforce remains vigilant and up-to- date on emerging threats, privacy regulations and best practices.
> In the event of a data breach or security incident, there is a comprehensive incident response plan in place.
> The Company believes in prompt communication with affected parties, including its investors, providing timely and accurate information about the incident, the steps taken to mitigate the impact and any necessary remedial measures.
> Lastly, the Company is actively working towards Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) readiness by strengthening its data governance, user consent mechanisms and privacy frameworks.
Data Security Certifications
> ISO27001 Security Certification for multiple businesses across Info Edge.
> SOC2 Type2 Security Compliance certification for
Naukri and Zwayam.
> PCI-DSS (For Naukri and Jeevansathi) compliant to avoid any financial risk.
Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
Info Edges CSR initiatives are grounded in the philosophy of shared growth and creating equitable opportunities for sustainable development. The Companys CSR vision aligns primarily with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4-Quality Education, while also supporting initiatives under SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities).
In pursuit of this vision, the Company collaborates with on-ground implementation partners to reach underrepresented and historically marginalised communities, ensuring that its initiatives promote both access and quality in education and livelihoods.
Focus Areas
EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PRIMARY EDUCATION
Focus Group: First-Generation Learners
The Company prioritised foundational learning by supporting the Balvatika school readiness programme at government primary schools through the Language and Learning Foundation. This initiative included designing curriculum content, teaching and learning materials and play-based modules for pre-primary grades. Additionally, Info Edge supported Saarthi Educations foundational numeracy modules, benefitting approximately 3,000 students across 12 affordable private schools.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Focus Group: Students at Risk of Dropping Out
In collaboration with Khan Academy India, the Company supported the creation and localisation of math content as a supplemental learning resource for Madhyamik school students in Uttar Pradesh. Info Edge also provided free-of- cost education and after-school support for post-primary students at Vatika School, Vidya & Child and enabled a holistic education programme for students of SSMI School, covering remedial education, life-skills training and STEM labs.
Students learning through self-paced lessons in a Computer Lab set at a Government school
EMPOWERING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS
Focus Groups: Government School Teachers and Principals
The Company invested in strengthening the education ecosystem by building leadership capabilities among school principals and teachers.
The Company supported Creatnet Educations Primary Leadership Development Programme for over 1,500 principals of MCD-run primary schools in Delhi. Additionally, it partnered with the Foster & Forge Foundation on the Beacon Fellowship, a two-year initiative aimed at enhancing leadership and teaching skills among primary school teachers in Uttar Pradeshs Jewar block. The Company also collaborated with the Simple Education Foundation on their Future Teachers programme, designed to prepare educators for future challenges.
INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY
Focus Groups: Children with Special Needs and Girls
The Company supported early intervention and special education initiatives to promote inclusive learning:
> Collaborated with the Sarthak Education Trust to provide early remediation and mainstreaming support for children with developmental delays through its Early Intervention Centre
> Worked with the Milaan Foundation to implement the Girl Icon programme, a leadership development programme for adolescent girls aged 14-18 from extremely marginalised and vulnerable families in rural Uttar Pradesh
> Supported the SwaTaleem Foundations work with historically underrepresented girls across eight Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in the Nuh and Palwal districts of Flaryana
HIGHER EDUCATION
Focus Groups: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students
To foster innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. Info Edge partnered with:
> Ashoka University and Plaksha University, supporting their respective centres for entrepreneurship aimed at nurturing student entrepreneurial ventures
> Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), providing scholarships to students pursuing development management courses
SKILLING AND LIVELIHOODS
Focus Groups: Youth and Persons with Disabilities
The Company focused on skilling, vocational training and enabling workforce entry for vulnerable groups:
> Through Project Pankh by the Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN), trained 200 Persons with Disabilities (including speech and hearing impairments, orthopaedic disabilities and low vision) for employment in the retail sector
> Partnered with the Magic Bus India Foundation to train youth from urban low-income communities for various jobs in the service sector
> Co-designed and launched The Second Innings, a livelihood programme for sportspersons with disabilities, in collaboration with the Umoya Foundation
Risks
Info Edge has a well-structured and robust risk management mechanism, which includes a comprehensive register that lists identified risks, their impact and the mitigation strategy.
Broadly, there are some overriding risks that are listed below.
Operational Risks
Data Security
Technical failure and breakdowns in servers could lead to interruptions of websites and result in corruption of all data and/or security breaches. The Company has established a secondary site in India as a precautionary measure for disaster recovery.
Network Effect
The network effect refers to the concept that the value of a product or service increases when the number of people who use that product or service increases. Most of the businesses in Info Edges portfolio base their growth on network effect. Any factors that can breach the sanctity of networks on which the businesses are built is a risk to the business. The Company continues to take steps to preserve these networks.
Obsolescence
Being a technology-driven enterprise, it always faces the risk of an innovation or product development that can make one or more of Info Edges propositions redundant. If Info Edge fails to implement new technologies, develop and provide innovative features and services, respond to evolving user preferences, enhance user friendliness of
User Misuse
The Companys users may engage in intentional or negligent misconduct or other improper activities on its online platforms or otherwise misuse its online platform, which may damage Info Edges brand image and reputation, business and results of operations. Continuous monitoring of web traffic is done to wean away such users.
Misuse of Personalised Data
If the Companys technology capabilities in Al and big data analytics fail to yield satisfactory results or fail to improve, its online platforms may not be able to effectively match the online seekers with suitable enterprise users orto optimally recommend services for its users and user growth, retention, results of operations and business prospects may suffer consequently. the Companys online recruitment platform, or optimise technology systems, it may not be able to improve user experience, which may have a material and adverse effect on user growth and retention, business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company remains alert with technology developments to overcome this risk.
Brand Value
Most of the online business platforms are developed under specified brands that have user recognition. Any negative implication on the brands is a significant risk to the Companys business. With increase in penetration of social media, the optionality of connecting multiple users have grown multi-fold, which offers ease for users to malign or socially implicate any business. The Company continues to regularly nurture its brands and manages all communications around them.
Business Knowledge
This includes the probability and severity of adverse effects of any activities engaging or related somehow to knowledge that can affect the functioning of an organisation on any level. This is being managed through internal sharing of information and deployment of digital tools.
Personal User Data Misuse
Because the Company stores and processes data, some of which contains sensitive personal information, Info Edge faces concerns over the collection, improper use or disclosure of personal information, which could deter current and potential users from using Info Edges services, damage reputation, result in legal liability, bring regulatory scrutiny and in turn materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations.
HR Risks
The Companys business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of its executive officers and other key employees. If Info Edge loses their services or does not plan their succession effectively, its business operations and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
Pandemic Risks
Pandemics like COVID-19 could have a significant effect on the results of operations and could negatively impact the business, revenues, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Info Edge believes that maintaining adequate financial resources is necessary to deal with these scenarios. But with a once-in-a-lifetime global epidemic such as these, one can never be sure.
Strategic Risks
Competition Risk
All portals face competition directly on the online space as well as the offline. Info Edge continuously tracks competition in every one of its businesses and stays prepared for the challenges.
Dependency Risk
The Company relies heavily on the recruitment business in India for its profits and cash flows. Info Edge has been consciously diversifying into other businesses to de-risk itself from this dependency. Already, the other businesses have started contributing to almost 25.2% of its total stand-alone revenues.
Investment Risk
The Company has an exposure of investments worth Rs.17,553.50 Million in investee startups, including listed, non-listed and strategic investments. There is a probability that this entire investment might not generate returns and absorb more cash in the incubation/ early phase. Already, Rs.7,247.51 Million of all such investments ever made have been written-off, exited or provisioned for. These are calculated risks, which is a part of the Companys growth strategy. Also, the reported equity holdings in investee companies may not translate into an equivalent economic interest on account of the terms of investment, including senior rights given to an investor or a group of investors or ESOP dilution.
Exposure in Strategic Investments
With the focused investments with strategic partner in the operating space, there is potential risk of acquiring business which may not be aligned to its core business offerings, values and principal. The Company also runs the risk of taking over liabilities of past period regulatory non compliances by the acquired business teams.
Obsolescence
If the Company fails to implement new technologies, develop and provide innovative features and services, respond to evolving user preferences, enhance user friendliness of Info Edges online platforms, or optimise its technology systems, the Company may not be able to improve user experience, which may have a material and adverse effect on user growth and retention, business, financial condition and results of operations. This is continuously monitored with regular action plans to keep these parameters at right levels.
IPR Protection
The Company may not be able to adequately protect its intellectual property, which could cause it to be less competitive and third-party infringements of its intellectual property rights may adversely affect the business. This is continuously monitored.
Growth-related Issues
Existing or future strategic alliances, long-term investments and acquisitions may have a material and adverse effect on the Companys business, reputation and results of operations. This is being managed with regular strategic interventions.
Financial Risks
Tax Issues
The Company has had some income tax and service tax cases against it, which, if lost, may impact future cash flows. However, none of these are material.
ERP
In order to promote efficiencies, the Company has promoted ERP across its activities. Any errors in billing or financial reports in the ERP system could affect the Companys billing and statutory reporting.
Capital Availability
Given the new phase of expansion strategy, the Company may need additional capital, and it might be unable to obtain such capital in a timely manner or on acceptable terms, or at all. So far investments have been managed through a strong proportion of assets still being maintained in cash and cash equivalents.
Workforce and Regulatory Risks
Regulatory Risk
We operate in an evolving regulatory environment, where the government endeavours to regulate various facets of online businesses. Most of these regulations are at different level of deliberations and considerations. These regulations may have significant impact on the Companys product offerings and services.
Attrition
Being a knowledge driven business, significant increase in attrition may affect the course of the business. The Company is focusing on making workflows as process driven as possible.
Content Liability
Most of the portals rely on information being posted by users. Fraudulent postings/profiles on the website and spamming by some users may damage the Companys reputation and make it vulnerable to claims, e.g. defamation and invasion of privacy. Filters are in place to containthequantity and quality of uploads and downloads.
IPR Protection
The Company has been protecting its trademarks against infringement/passing off by third parties who use them in a trademark sense. Even so, it is exposed to risks of third parties trying to use its marks. There are also risks attached with the litigation process. Also, litigation is a time and resource intensive activity and may be on-going.
Domain
The Companys businesses rely on specific registered domains under the brands. There are risks associated with continued ownership of these domains and cases if ownership renewals are not possible.
These are continuously updated and managed.
Privacy
Changes in privacy laws may impact the Companys ability to share personnel data on their websites. Flowever, since in most cases the Company seeks prior consent from the users before sharing any such data, the effect of this development on Info Edge should be minimal.
Internal Controls and Their Adequacy
Info Edge has an adequate system of internal controls to ensure that all assets are safeguarded and protected against loss from unauthorised use or disposition and those transactions are authorised, recorded and reported correctly. Internal controls are supplemented by an extensive programme of internal audits, review by management and the Audit Committee and documented policies, guidelines and procedures. The internal control system is designed to ensure that financial and other records are reliable for preparing financial information and other data and for maintaining accountability of assets. The Company has adopted Compliance Dashboard for monitoring compliances with laws applicable on the Company and Mylnsider tool to strengthen control over Insider Trading Regulations.
Cautionary Statement
Statements in this Management Discussion and Analysis Report describing the Companys objectives, projections, estimates and expectations may be forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations. Actual results might differ substantially or materially from those expressed or implied. Important developments that could affect the Companys operations include a downtrend in the Indian online sector, advertising spends, new disruptive technologies or business models, significant changes in political and economic environment in India, exchange rate fluctuations, tax laws, litigation, labour relations and interest costs.
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