At a time when there is a general funding freeze, India’s digital payments startup Phone Pe has raised $350 million in a fresh round of fundraising from General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. This investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion fundraising that commenced in January 2023.
The Bengaluru-based startup which is owned by Walmart and recently fully separated from Flipkart is anticipating raising another $650 million in the current round. This is a remarkable feat as global fundraising has slowed down. The $12 billion valuation is a big leap considering Phone Pe was valued at $5.5 billion in late 2020.
Sameer Nigam, founder and chief executive of PhonePe, in a statement: “I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar. We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all.”
PhonePe will use the funds for investment in infrastructure, including the development of data centres and building financial services offerings at scale, it said in a statement. It also plans to invest in new businesses, including insurance, wealth management, and lending.
Phone Pe also intends to list on the bourses in the near future after it turns its core business profitable. The 7-year-old Phone Pe owns about 40% of UPI transactions – the most popular way Indians pay and receive money on a network built by a coalition of retail banks in India.
