How Info Edge Turned ₹86 Crore Into ₹3,200 Crore With Zomato — One Of India’s Craziest Startup Investment Stories
Back in 2010, when most Indians were still calling restaurants directly to order food and “online food delivery” sounded like a rich-country concept, a small startup was quietly trying to digitize restaurant menus.
No fancy billion-dollar headlines.
No Shark Tank hype.
No massive investor frenzy.
Just two IIT graduates sitting with a simple idea.
That startup was.
And somewhere else, another man was paying very close attention.
Now here’s where the story gets interesting…
At that time, India’s startup ecosystem was nowhere near what it is today. Investors preferred “safe businesses.” Most people didn’t even understand tech startups properly. If a company was losing money, people immediately called it a failure.
And honestly?
Zomato looked exactly like that kind of risky company.
Burning cash.
Expanding aggressively.
No clear profits.
Competing in an industry nobody believed could become huge.
But Sanjeev Bikhchandani saw something others completely missed.
He wasn’t looking at Zomato as a “food company.”
He was looking at it as a future internet habit.
That single mindset changed everything.
While the world was busy questioning whether people would ever order food online regularly, Info Edge quietly invested around ₹4.7 crore initially into Zomato in 2010. And unlike many investors who jump in and out quickly, Info Edge kept backing the company in multiple rounds over the years.
Slowly… silently… patiently…
The total investment reached nearly ₹86 crore by 2013.
Now imagine the situation during those years.
Every few months there were headlines about startup losses.
People mocked food delivery businesses.
Experts kept saying:
“This business model won’t survive.”
But the founders of Zomato Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah kept building.
And Info Edge kept believing.
That’s the part most people don’t understand about legendary investments.
The real money is never made in comfort.
It’s made during uncertainty.
Years passed.
India changed.
Cheap internet arrived.
Smartphones exploded.
UPI transformed payments.
People got addicted to convenience.
And suddenly the same idea that looked “risky” started becoming a daily habit for millions of Indians.
Zomato wasn’t just a restaurant listing app anymore.
It became a full-scale food delivery giant.
Then came the big moment…
July 2021.
Zomato launched its IPO.
And the entire Indian startup ecosystem stopped for a second.
Because this wasn’t just another IPO.
This was proof that Indian internet startups could become massive public companies.
The stock market response was explosive.
Investors rushed in.
The valuation surged.
And overnight, Info Edge’s investment story became legendary.
That original investment of around ₹86 crore suddenly became worth more than ₹3,200 crore.
Read that again.
₹86 crore → ₹3,200+ crore.
That’s nearly a 37X return.
More than 3,600% gains.
The kind of return most traditional businesses may never generate even in decades.
And the craziest part?
Info Edge didn’t build Zomato themselves.
They simply had the vision to recognize greatness early.
That’s what separates ordinary investing from legendary investing.
Most people wait for certainty.
Great investors move before certainty arrives.
Today, when people talk about iconic startup investments in India, this story sits right at the top alongside the biggest wealth creation stories in modern business history.
Because this wasn’t luck.
This was conviction.
This was patience.
This was understanding where the world was heading before everyone else noticed it.
And honestly, this story teaches something brutally important about investing…
Big wealth is rarely created by chasing quick profits.
It’s created by finding a powerful business early… and then having the courage to hold it while the rest of the world keeps doubting it.
Most people would have sold early.
Most people would have panicked during losses.
Most people would have exited after doubling their money.
But legendary returns come only to people who can survive the waiting period.
That’s exactly what Info Edge did.
And that patience turned into thousands of crores.
What Investors & Traders Can Learn From This Story
1. Great Businesses Look Risky In The Beginning
If an opportunity already looks obvious, the biggest money has probably already been made.
2. Conviction Creates Wealth
Info Edge didn’t invest once and disappear. They kept backing Zomato when the business was uncertain.
3. Patience Beats Panic
A 37X return doesn’t happen in weeks or months. It takes years of holding through fear, volatility, and negative headlines.
4. Focus On Long-Term Trends
Info Edge wasn’t betting on “food delivery.”
They were betting on India’s digital future.
5. One Big Winner Can Change Everything
In investing, sometimes a single extraordinary investment can outperform dozens of average ones combined.
And maybe that’s the biggest lesson of all…
Every legendary investment story sounds stupid in the beginning and obvious in the end.
Final Thoughts
The biggest investing lesson from the Info Edge–Zomato story is simple:
Massive wealth is created by spotting powerful businesses before the crowd does.
When Info Edge invested in Zomato, there were doubts everywhere.
The company was loss-making.
The market was uncertain.
And online food delivery was still unproven in India.
But conviction, patience, and long-term thinking changed everything.
Today, that ₹86 crore investment has become one of the greatest startup wealth-creation stories in Indian business history.
The question every investor should ask is:
Which company today looks risky… but could become the next Zomato tomorrow?
Because every multi-bagger story looks uncertain in the beginning.
📌 Follow StockTrack for more deep startup, investing, and wealth-creation stories from India’s business world.
