PhonePe raises $200 mn in additional funding from Walmart

PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, on Friday said it has raised an additional USD 200 million (around Rs 1,649 crore) in primary capital from Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of USD 12 billion.

This new funding comes as a part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraise of up to USD 1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year. With this tranche, the company has raised USD 650 million (around Rs 5,360 crore) from several global investors, PhonePe said in a statement. The USD 12 billion pre-money valuation makes Walmart-owned PhonePe the most valuable fintech in the country, surpassing payment services provider, Razorpay which was last valued at USD 7.5 billion. PhonePe competes with Google Pay and Paytm.

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“The company expects further investments, which will be announced in due course,” the statement said. “PhonePe 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. Speaking on the fundraise, 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”.

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 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.”