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PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, on March 17 said it has raised an additional $200 million (approximately ₹1,649 crore) in equity capital from Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.
This new funding is part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraising of up to $1 billion in capital, following the move of its domicile to India last year. In this tranche, the company has raised $650 million (approximately ₹5,360 crore) from several global investors, PhonePe said in a statement.
With a $12 billion pre-money valuation, Walmart-owned PhonePe is the most valuable fintech in the country, surpassing payment services provider Razorpay which was last valued at $7.5 billion. PhonePe competes with Google Pay and Paytm.
“The company is looking forward to further investment, which will be announced in due course,” the statement said. “PhonePe plans to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses such as insurance, wealth management, lending, stockbroking, ONDC-based shopping and account aggregators.”
The fundraising will also help PhonePe turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and UPI Credit.
Speaking at the fundraiser, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe said, “We would like to thank Walmart, our majority investor, for their continued support of our long-term aspirations. We are excited about the next phase of our growth as we develop new offerings for Indian consumers and merchants, including enabling financial inclusion across the country”.
The statement, however, did not give how much shareholding Walmart has in PhonePe now.
President and CEO for Walmart International, Judith McKenna, said: “We are excited about the future of PhonePe and are confident in how it continues to expand its offerings and provide access to financial services for Indians in scale. India is one of the most digital, dynamic and fastest growing economies, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to support PhonePe.”
