PhonePe raises $200 mn additional funding from Walmart at $12 bn valuation

New funding is part of PhonePe's ongoing capital raise of up to $1 bn, following its domicile shift to India last year

PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, has raised an additional $200 million in primary capital from its parent Walmart, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.

This new funding comes as a part of PhonePe’s ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion in capital, following its domicile shift to India last year. With this tranche, the company has raised $650 million from several global investors. The company expects further investments, which will be announced in due course.

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.

‘’We would like to thank Walmart, our majority investor, for their continued support of our long-term aspirations,” said Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe. “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.’’

“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,” said Judith McKenna, President and CEO for Walmart International. “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.”

PhonePe was founded in December 2015. With about 450 Million registered users, more than one in three adult Indians are now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized over 35 million offline merchants spread across Tier 2,3,4 and beyond, covering 99 per cent pin codes in the country. PhonePe said it is also the leader in Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), processing over 45 per cent of the transactions on the BBPS platform. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017, providing users with investing options on its platform. Since then, the company has introduced several Mutual Funds and Insurance products that offer every Indian an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services.