Axios Pro Exclusive Content

PhonePe raises another $100M from General Atlantic

Ryan Lawler
May 22, 2023
Illustrated collage of a computer, a hand on a cellphone, and a hand holding rupees

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

General Atlantic has invested an additional $100 million into PhonePe as part of an ongoing financing round that values the Indian fintech firm at $12 billion.

Why it matters: PhonePe holds a commanding lead in the Indian mobile payments space and is looking to expand into adjacent verticals.

Context: Bengaluru-headquartered PhonePe was acquired by Flipkart in 2016 but fully separated from the Indian e-commerce giant late last year.

  • Walmart holds a majority stake in both firms, but PhonePe has been raising funds to capture more of the Indian mobile payments market.

Flashback: In January, PhonePe announced it had raised an initial $350 million at a $12 billion valuation.

  • That was a jump from the $5.5 billion valuation it garnered in late 2020, when the payments firm first announced plans to go independent.

Zoom out: PhonePe competes with Google Pay and Paytm in mobile payments transferred through the country's Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

  • According to National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) data, PhonePe commanded about 50% of all UPI transaction value.

What's next: PhonePe is looking to expand its product offerings, starting with an e-commerce app called Pincode that it launched last month.

Go deeper