Indian fintech platform PhonePe raised $200 million in primary capital from Walmart, even as other startups struggle to raise new funding due to the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank.
In the funding round, PhonePe raised $650 million from several global investors as part of its ongoing fundraising of up to $1 billion, which values the Bengaluru-headquartered company at $12 billion pre-money. PhonePe said it will use the new capital infusion to build and scale new businesses like Insurance, Wealth Management, Lending, Stockbroking, ONDC-based Shopping and Account Aggregators.
The news comes just a year after PhonePe raised $100 million at a $12 billion valuation in February 2022, part of PhonePe's primary fundraise that took place in January 2022 when the company raised $350 million from General Atlantic.
The funding proceeds will be used to help the company boost the growth of UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI. PhonePe is India's most valuable fintech startup with Alphabet Inc, Google Pay and Paytm at a $12 billion valuation. It is currently valued at nearly $5 billion.
We are very 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 continue to support PhonePe, said Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International.
In 2015, CEO Sameer Nigam, Husna Nc Engineer and Rahul Chari, Maharashtra, India-based PhonePe provides a UPI-based online payment system that allows users to transfer money instantly from their phones and devices.
Before founding PhonePe, Nigam worked as Senior Vice President of Engineering at Flipkart. In 2009 he started his first company, Mime 360. On its website, PhonePe says that every Indian is entitled to an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services.