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Revenue restatements, auditor red flags, and a CFO exit: What's going on at Peak XV-backed Dailyhunt?

Nikhil Patwardhan

April 29, 2025 | 12 Min Read

The latest filings of Dailhunt parent VerSe Innovation appear to show widening gaps between its public narrative and financial realities, as outgoing auditor Deloitte flags governance lapses and internal control weaknesses even as the company claims to have received a “clean report”.

Key Takeaways

VerSe Innovation restated its FY23 and FY24 revenues, with auditors identifying deficiencies in internal financial controls across key functions
Deloitte issued an adverse opinion on VerSe’s internal controls, highlighting risks related to financial misreporting, though it provided an unqualified opinion on the consolidated financial statements
VerSe’s CFO resigned shortly after the audit findings—reportedly on health grounds—drawing attention to leadership stability and governance practices
VerSe’s FY25 growth projections depend on new initiatives like Nexverse.ai, Magzter, and ValueLeaf

In March, Umang Bedi, co-founder and CEO of VerSe Innovation, the parent company of news aggregator Dailyhunt, told The CapTable that the company had received a “clean report” from its auditor, Deloitte. This statement came after The CapTable had learned that Deloitte had raised several concerns regarding VerSe’s financials, delaying the filing of the company’s financials for the year ended March 2024 (FY24) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Shortly after The CapTable’s inquiry, VerSe issued a press release announcing that its FY24 revenue had dropped to Rs 1,260 crore, from Rs 1,456 crore in the previous fiscal, but halved its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) loss. However, the press release did not provide specific financial details or address any audit-related issues.

At the time, Bedi dismissed any suggestion of discrepancies flagged by the auditor, stating that VerSe would file its FY24 results with the MCA “soon” and reiterating that the audit report would bear this out.

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