Payments and financial services unicorn PhonePe has raised $350 million funding from General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion, making the Walmart-owned start-up the most-valued financial technology (fintech) player in India.
With this funding round, the indigenous digital payments start-up has more than doubled its valuation to $12-billion, joining the decacorn club. The investment is the first tranche of the company’s latest fundraise that could see marquee global and Indian investors put in up to $1 billion in the fintech firm.
General Atlantic will be infusing substantial capital, along with Walmart and other new investors, to a final raise of $1 billion. Additionally, Qatar Investment Authority and Microsoft have brought shares directly into the company as part of its complete separation from Flipkart.
PhonePe plans to deploy the funds to make investments in infrastructure, including development of data centres and build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including insurance, wealth management, and lending.
Sameer Nigam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PhonePe, said, “We are an Indian company built by Indians. Our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all.” PhonePe said the funding will help it “turbo-charge” digital payments in India and enable greater financial inclusion.
He further said, “We look forward to delivering the next phase of growth by investing in new business verticals like insurance, wealth management, and lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments in India.”
