
Dailyhunt parent VerSe is betting on AI, cost cuts for a turnaround after a tough FY24. Will it work?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. VerSe Innovation, the parent of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short-video app Josh, expects to break even in the next three to four months and turn profitable in FY26 after reducing losses and improving cost efficiency, co-founder Umang Bedi told Mint in an interview. “The primary focus is to break even in the next few months," Bedi said.
“Although Dailyhunt broke even on a standalone basis two years ago, we were still burning money for other verticals. I think FY24 was pivotal in reducing our burn drastically despite flattish revenue growth." Read this | Gaja Capital set to become first Indian PE firm to go public with plan for ₹500 cr IPO Bedi added that the company expects more than 75% revenue growth in FY25 and aims to reduce burn by 30-40%. In FY24, VerSe’s revenue fell to ₹1,261 crore from ₹1,809 crore a year earlier.
However, its EBITDA burn, which excludes non-cash expenses, improved by 51%, narrowing to ₹710 crore from ₹1,448 crore in FY23. “This was driven by a reduction in our sales and marketing expenses and our cost of services," Bedi said. The company expects a sharp turnaround in revenue, fuelled by artificial intelligence (AI)-driven innovation, deeper monetization across platforms—including Dailyhunt, Josh, NextVerSe AI, and VerSe Collab—and a recovery in the advertising market.
“Through these moves, we are setting the foundation to make the company IPO-worthy," he added, without disclosing a timeline. In FY24, VerSe cut its cost of services to ₹1,155 crore from ₹1,389 crore, while promotional expenses fell to ₹339 crore from ₹969 crore, according to company filings. Bedi described FY24 as a reset year, where the company shifted focus from revenue growth to
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