WHALESBOOK – Info Edge (India) has invested ₹10 crore (~$1.1M) in dating app Aisle through its subsidiary Jeevansathi Internet Services to support the dating platform’s working capital. The investment comes despite Aisle posting a net loss of ₹17.8 crore (~$2M) in FY25, even as revenue grew to ₹39.62 crore (~$4.3M).
SCANX – Info Edge’s subsidiary Jeevansathi Internet Services has bought the remaining 3.65% stake in Aisle Network Pvt. Ltd. for ₹5.5 crore ($620K), making Aisle a wholly-owned subsidiary. The deal includes 1,279 equity shares and ends prior seller arrangements. Aisle runs Indian dating apps Aisle, Anbe, Arike, Neetho, and Jalebi. Financially, it reported a turnover of ₹39.62 crore ($4.5M), loss of ₹17.8 crore ($2M), and net worth of ₹20.86 crore ($2.4M).
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THE WALRUS – India has ~1,500 matrimony platforms, a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Betterhalf.ai, launched in 2016, competes with Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi, and Matrimony.com by using AI for matchmaking without parental involvement. Traditional arranged marriages still dominate, with 90% of Indian marriages arranged, and on Shaadi.com, 40–50% of profiles are managed by parents. Matrimony.com, India’s largest publicly listed matrimony platform, had a market value of ~$16M and annual revenue of $57M, 850K subscribers, and ~100K successful matches as of 2021. Betterhalf.ai, founded by MIT graduates Gupta and Namdev, has 1M monthly users and a 30% paid subscriber retention rate, outperforming Bumble, Hinge, and Tinder (10% retention). In March 2023, it raised $8.5M from investors, including Instagram and Dropbox co-founders. The company plans to evolve into a “marriage super app,” offering wedding services, pregnancy support, and more.
by Mihika Agarwal
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ZEE BUSINESS – Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com and the online matrimonial service Jeevansathi, reported a 75.6% increase in consolidated profit for Q1 FY25, reaching ₹258.8 crore ($30.8M). This growth was driven by strong performance in its recruitment, real estate, and matchmaking businesses. Revenue from operations increased by 8.1% to ₹677 crore ($80.6M), with significant contributions from the real estate and education sectors. The previous year, Info Edge had a net profit of ₹147.4 crore ($17.6M) for the same period.
MEDIANEWS4U – Matrimony.com's founder and CMD, Murugavel Janakiraman, is reflecting on the future of his company in light of recent reports that Match Group is considering investing in Shaadi.com, an Indian matrimony site, and InfoEdge's acquisition of the dating site Aisle through JeevanSaathi.com. Janakiraman notes that while dating sites have been around in India for about a decade, they haven't generated the expected revenues and have realized that matrimony sites are where the money is. He also observes that women are increasingly taking the decision to marry into their own hands and that the younger generation wants equality in marriages. Janakiraman believes that communication and design are the keys to successful marriages and plans to host webinars for couples to educate them on this. The company is committed to serving its audience and building a long-lasting organization that can evolve beyond the founder's involvement. Matrimony.com also has a growing wedding services business, including Wedding Bazaar and Mandap.com, and recently launched RainbowLuv for the LGBTQIA+ community.
by Gokul Krishnamoorthy
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MOBILEIDWORLD – BlyssDating is using facial biometrics to make it more difficult for con artists to connect with victims on its platform. Blyss Dating is set to debut sometime in the summer, and is currently conducting a pre-registration drive for college students and young adults in the Washington, DC, area. Blyss is not the first dating platform to implement some form of identity verification. The Indian dating app Jeevansathi is onboarding new users with Onfido, while Yoti has provided identity services for Fluttr and DateID. The Meet Group has also partnered with Yoti and FaceTec to verify the ages and identities of its customers.
INC42 – Info Edge will be acquiring Aisle in two tranches with capital infusion of INR 75 Cr each ($10M). This will be Info Edge's first acquisition in 2022 after acquiring two HR tech startups DoSelect and Zwayam Digital in 2021. With Aisle's acquisition and already profitable Jeevansathi, Info Edge wants to double down on its matchmaking business. Founded in 2014 by Able Joseph, Aisle is an Indian dating app for people looking for a serious relationship. Aisle has acquired ~6.5M users. Aisle's total earning in FY19 was $466K, up 161% from FY18. Founded by Sanjeev Bikhchandani in 1995, Info Edge is the parent company of popular job classifieds platform – Naukri.com. The internet company also owns a matrimonial service – Jeevansathi, which was the only profitable business of Info Edge in the pandemic devastated Q1 of FY21 (April – June of 2020).
by Debarghya Sil
See full article at Inc42
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
ECONOMIC TIMES – Sep 8 – Info Edge, an Indian Internet company, said its overall Q1 billing was down 44% YOY. Jeevansaathi, the matchmaking company, was actually the only business in their portfolio which did well in Q1. It kept growing through the lockdown as well. Jeevansathi billings grew by 13% in Q1.
by Sanchita Dash
See full article at Business Insider
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