PhonePe Secures Additional $100 Million Investment from General Atlantic, Total Funding Reaches $850 Million
General Atlantic has invested an additional $100 million in Indian fintech startup PhonePe, just four months after leading a $350 million investment in the company. This latest funding brings PhonePe’s ongoing financing round to a total of $850 million, with a valuation of $12 billion. The startup aims to raise an additional $150 million in the current round.
PhonePe, backed by Walmart, is now India’s most valuable fintech startup, surpassing competitors such as Google Pay and Paytm. The company, which separated from e-commerce giant Flipkart last year, dominates transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network, processing over 8 billion transactions per month. PhonePe and Google’s GPay collectively handle more than 80% of all UPI transactions.
With a 50% market share by transaction value, PhonePe continues to grow rapidly and is on track to process transactions worth $1 trillion annually. The separation from Flipkart allows PhonePe to pursue independent initiatives and expand its product offerings. Earlier this year, the startup launched Pincode, a hyperlocal commerce app powered by the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government initiative to democratize e-commerce.
PhonePe plans to invest significantly in Pincode and aims to enable every Indian shopkeeper to participate in digital commerce. The company, with a user base of 450 million registered users, intends to expand into additional financial services, including wealth management, lending, stockbroking, ONDC-based shopping, and account aggregation.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees the UPI network, had proposed market share restrictions on participating players. However, the deadline for compliance has been extended until 2025, allowing PhonePe to continue its rapid expansion for two more years. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India has abandoned its plan to launch a UPI competitor, providing a favorable regulatory environment for PhonePe’s growth.
General Atlantic, known for backing several Indian firms, plans to invest $2 billion to $3 billion in India over the next five to seven years. The new investment reaffirms PhonePe’s position as a leader in the Indian fintech space and strengthens its ability to innovate and expand its services.
