PhonePe Secures Additional $100 Million in Funding from General Atlantic, Totaling $850 Million in 2023

• ByStartupStory     |    May 22, 2023

PhonePe, a fintech company owned by Walmart, has secured an additional $100 million in equity investment from General Atlantic, a private equity firm based in the United States. This latest funding brings PhonePe’s total funding for 2023 to $850 million, which accounts for 85% of the $1 billion funding round initiated in January.

“PhonePe is pleased to announce that it has secured an additional $100 Mn investment from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, as part of its ongoing fundraise,” said the fintech giant in a statement, adding, “This latest tranche brings the total investment from General Atlantic and its co-investors to $550 Mn.” 

General Atlantic’s recent $100 million investment in PhonePe comes approximately one month after a previous investment of the same amount. Additionally, around five months ago, General Atlantic invested $350 million in PhonePe at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Other notable investors in PhonePe include Walmart, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, who collectively invested around $300 million in the company.

PhonePe was established in December 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer. The company boasts over 400 million registered users. In April 2023, PhonePe maintained its leading position as the top player in digital payments, with a remarkable 421.6 crore transactions valued at INR 7.10 lakh crore. As a Walmart-owned fintech giant, PhonePe commanded a substantial market share of 50.47% in terms of transaction value and 47.39% in terms of transaction count during the previous month.

PhonePe has expressed its plans to strategically utilize the funds from previous investments to drive the expansion of its payment and insurance ventures in India. The fintech company aims to allocate resources towards the launch and rapid growth of various business verticals in the upcoming quarters. These verticals include lending, stockbroking, ONDC-based shopping, and account aggregators.

PhonePe has recently introduced Pincode, an ONDC-based shopping application aimed at enhancing the consumer experience. This strategic move showcases PhonePe’s determination to strengthen its position in India’s bustling ecommerce sector. According to a recent report by Inc42, Pincode has garnered over 50,000 installations in Bengaluru within a month since its launch in the city. 

The app is expected to leverage the surge in ONDC orders, which have surpassed 25,000 per day and grown 500 times since the beginning of the year. To further bolster its payments and UPI vertical, PhonePe has also launched UPI Lite, a version of the payments network that enables users to make hassle-free payments under INR 200 from their accounts without requiring a pin.

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