InfoEdge acquires 76% stake in dating app Aisle for Rs 91 cr

InfoEdge has acquired a 76 per cent stake in dating app Aisle for Rs 91 crore. The public tech firm InfoEdge said that through the acquisition the company is looking to strengthen its offering in matchmaking sgement with apps like Aisle and Jeevansathi.

The funds will be used to further strengthen Aisle’s position in the high-intent dating market in India. Able Joseph, Founder and CEO of Aisle will continue to run Aisle with the support of InfoEdge’s larger infrastructure and ecosystem, as per an official handout.
 
InfoEdge is among the largest tech public companies in India and operates pioneering Internet platforms such as Naukri, Jeevansaathi, 99 acres, Shiksha.

They were also one of the early investors in Zomato and Policybazaar and continue to make investments in new-age start-ups both from their balance sheet and from their early-stage fund, InfoEdge Ventures.

“While most of our competitors focused on engagement through gamification, we went against conventional wisdom and focused on churn. We optimised our products for our members to meet someone special and exit the platform. While this decision made it difficult to raise venture capital, the success stories and word-of-mouth helped us stay in the race and become the market leader in high-intent dating. By partnering with InfoEdge we now have a real shot at becoming the numero uno dating company in India,” Able Joseph, Founder and CEO, Aisle, said.
 
Rohan Mathur, Executive Vice President & Business Head, InfoEdge added, “We are happy to announce our acquisition of Aisle. The matchmaking ecosystem in India has been witnessing a shift  in the last couple of years and this partnership will help us redefine and grow the overall category and establish InfoEdge as a leader.”
 
Over the last two years, Aisle claims that its membership base has grown by 100 per cent and the company has been able to achieve this with a lean team of 24 employees.

“Keeping in mind the rising popularity of high-intent dating in smaller cities the company has also launched ‘Arike’, India’s first vernacular dating app for Malayalees residing in and out of India. The success of Arike led to the launch of ‘Anbe’ and ‘Neetho’ for Tamil and Telugu audiences, respectively,” as per a company statement.