PhonePe Raises $200M Investment from Walmart in its Ongoing Fundraising

Indian digital payments company PhonePe said on Friday it had raised $200 million (nearly Rs 1,650 crore) from majority backer Walmart for a pre-money valuation of $12 billion (nearly Rs 99,000 crore). rupees).

PhonePe, already India’s most valuable payments company and among the country’s most highly regarded startups, said the investment is part of its ongoing fundraising of up to $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8 250 crore).

It raised $350m (nearly Rs. 2,900 crore) from private equity firm General Atlantic and $100m (nearly Rs. 820 crore) from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds over the past two months, at the same $12 billion valuation. .

U.S. retail giant Walmart, which acquired a majority stake in PhonePe in 2018, will remain a majority investor, the Indian company said, without disclosing its stake.

Despite a funding winter, India’s digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and ambitions of startups to venture into the lucrative financial services space.

PhonePe said it plans to deploy the funds to create and grow new businesses, including insurance, wealth management and lending.

PhonePe parted ways with Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart late last year when it also moved its headquarters from Singapore to India, with Walmart picking up the nearly $1 billion tax bill dollars for the move.

The relocation, according to some reports, was aimed at ensuring easier entry into the country’s highly regulated financial services sector, particularly lending.

© Thomson Reuters 2023