Baillie Gifford Funds Mark Down VerSe Innovation Valuation

Two investment funds managed by Baillie Gifford have reduced the carrying value of their holdings in VerSe Innovation, the parent company of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short-video platform Josh, by up to 80 percent. The disclosures indicate a shift in investor sentiment regarding the firm’s valuation, though they do not constitute a definitive company-wide price assessment.

April 2022

VerSe Innovation completed a major funding round, securing $805 million. At that time, the company reported a valuation of approximately $5 billion.

August 2024

Investor 360 ONE valued VerSe at approximately $2.9 billion, a 42 percent decrease from the 2022 peak. VerSe disputed this assessment, stating that other investors maintained the $5 billion valuation and that no new price-discovery funding round had occurred.

January 2025

The Schiehallion Fund recorded its investment in VerSe at $34.31 million. By August 2026, the fund reduced this valuation to $7.47 million, a decline of 78.2 percent.

July 2026

Pacific Horizon Investment Trust reported its holding in VerSe at £4.08 million. This figure represents an 80.3 percent drop from the £20.69 million valuation recorded in July 2024.

Current Financial Standing

Despite the downward revaluations, VerSe reported growth in its fiscal year 2025 performance. The company stated that operating revenue increased to ₹1,930 crore, up 88 percent from the previous fiscal year. EBITDA burn narrowed by 20 percent to ₹738 crore. VerSe has pursued diversification through acquisitions, including Valueleaf and Magzter, to bolster its adtech and subscription offerings. The company, founded by Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi, has raised approximately $1.7 billion from investors such as Google, Microsoft, and Peak XV Partners.

Why it matters: These revaluations highlight the ongoing adjustment in private market valuations for major tech startups. For investors and stakeholders in emerging digital media markets, the discrepancy between previous high-valuation funding rounds and current portfolio disclosures reflects the pressure on high-growth platforms to demonstrate sustainable profitability amid evolving market conditions.