PhonePe, one of India’s largest Fintech platforms, announced it has raised an additional $200 million in primary capital from Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.
This new funding reportedly comes as “a part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year. With this tranche, the company has raised $650Mn from several global investors.”
The company expects further investments, which will be “announced in due course.”
PhonePe says it now plans “to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses like Insurance, Wealth Management, Lending, Stockbroking, ONDC-based Shopping and Account Aggregators.” The fundraise will also “help PhonePe turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI.”
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 build new offerings for Indian consumers and merchants, along with enabling financial inclusion across the nation.’’
President and CEO for Walmart International Judith McKenna said:
“We are excited about PhonePe’s future and have confidence in how it continues to expand its offerings and provide access to financial services for Indians at scale. India is one of the world’s most digital, dynamic and fastest growing economies, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to support PhonePe.”
As noted in the update, PhonePe was “founded in December 2015 and has emerged as one of India’s largest fintech platform, enabling digital inclusion for consumers and merchants alike.”
With ~45 crore (~450 Million) registered users, “more than one in three adult Indians are now on PhonePe.” The company has also successfully “digitized 3.5+ crore (35+ Million) offline merchants spread across Tier 2,3,4 and beyond, covering 99% pin codes in the country.”
PhonePe also claims it is “the leader in Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), processing over 45% of the transactions on the BBPS platform.”
PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017, “providing users with safe and convenient investing options on its platform.”
Since then, the company has “introduced several Mutual Funds and Insurance products that offer every Indian an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services.”
