Info Edge (India) Ltd, the parent of businesses such as Naukri.com and 99acres.com, on Tuesday said it has bought 76% stake in dating app Aisle for Rs 91 crore (around $11.8 million).
Aisle’s Founder and CEO Able Joseph will continue to run the company.
The Bengaluru-based platform claims its members have jumped by 100% in the past two years.
"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," said Joseph.
Aisle, rolled out in 2014, claimed to have launched India's first vernacular dating app 'Arike', which is for Malayalees residing in and out of the country.
In India, Aisle competes with the US-based apps Tinder, Bumble and Hinge. The platform also competes with Truly Madly, Woo, Quack Quack and OkCupid.
“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,” said Rohan Mathur, Executive Vice President and Business Head at Info Edge.
Info Edge is one of India's technology public corporations with platforms like Naukri, Jeevansaathi, 99 acres and Shiksha. They were an early investor in Zomato and Policy Bazaar through their balance sheet as well as their early-stage fund, Info Edge Ventures.
With its headquarter in Noida (NCR), the company claims to employ around 5,000 people and operates through 64 offices across 45 India cities and other overseas offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain focused on the Middle East market.
The company also owns Quadrangle – an offline executive search business, and Naukri Gulf, one of the leading job site in the Middle East market.
