According to reports, the fintech company secured the US$200 million in funding from its major backer, Walmart Inc. The investor put up the funding following a pre-money valuation of PhonePe of $12 billion.
PhonePe has also said that the funding is part of an ongoing fundraising drive to raise up to $1 billion and that the company will be entering the insurance market with a strong new insurtech and wealth management offering. No more details of the new insurance drive have been released.
Since January PhonePe has already raised $350 million from General Atlantic and $100 million from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds at the same valuation.
Despite a funding slowdown, the Indian digital payments market has remained active, given the growing popularity of online payments and startups’ interest in entering the lucrative financial services sector.
Fintechs expanding offerings into insurtech
Speaking about the fundraise, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe said, ‘’We would like to thank Walmart, our majority investor, for their continued support of our long-term aspirations. 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.’’
President and CEO for Walmart International Judith McKenna said: “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. 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.”
