Bengaluru: Aisle, India’s leading high intent dating app, announced today that Info Edge has acquired 76% in the company for INR 91 crore. With both Aisle and Jeevansathi, InfoEdge will look to strengthen its offering in the matchmaking segment. 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 Info Edge’s larger infrastructure and ecosystem.
Info Edge is among the largest tech public companies in India and operates pioneering internet platforms such as Naukri, Jeevansaathi, 99 acres, Shiksha. They were one of the early investors in Zomato and Policy Bazaar and continue to make investments in new-age startups both from their balance sheet and from their early-stage fund, Info Edge Ventures.
Commenting on the acquisition, Able Joseph, Founder and CEO, Aisle, said,” While most of our competitors focused on engagement through gamification, we went against conventional wisdom and focused on churn. We optimized 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.”
Further, Rohan Mathur, Executive Vice President & Business Head, Info Edge 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’s member base has grown by 100% 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.