Digital payments app PhonePe has raised $350 million in a funding round led by General Atlantic at an evaluation of $12 billion.
What to do with the capital?
It intends to use the new funds to make big investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centers and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country.
PhonePe also said that it plans to invest in new businesses, including insurance, wealth management, and lending.
Last month, Flipkart along with PhonePe announced the full ownership separation of PhonePe.
This will allow both to set their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and help unlock and maximize enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies.
Founder’s statement
PhonePe Group was acquired by the Flipkart Group in 2016.
Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe said in his statement, “I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us.
PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar.
We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all.
We look forward to delivering the next phase of our growth by investing in new business verticals like Insurance, Wealth Management and Lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India.’’
Deal expectations
General Atlantic is a global private equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history, with over $73 billion in assets under management.
On the deal, Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic commented, “Sameer, Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalization and significantly broaden access to financial tools for the people of India.
They remain focused on driving adoption of inclusive products developed on the open API based ‘India stack.’
This vision is aligned with General Atlantic’s longstanding commitment to backing high-growth businesses focused on inclusion and empowerment.”
