PhonePe raises $200 million from Walmart at $12 billion pre-market valuation

Payments processor PhonePe has raised $200 million from parent company Walmart at a preliminary valuation of $12 billion as part of its ongoing fundraising of up to $1 billion.

Private equity firm General Atlantic also wrote a $350 million check to PhonePe at the same valuation. Meanwhile, the payments company has raised $100 million in the past two months from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds at a valuation of $12 billion.

Walmart remains the majority owner of PhonePe. However, the exact size of the share is not known. The funds will be used to build and expand new businesses such as insurance, wealth management and lending, the company said. Last year, PhonePe was spun off from e-commerce company Flipkart and relocated in India from Singapore, in what was seen as an IPO-focused move. However, the company has ruled out going public for the time being.

PhonePe recently reported that its annual rate of total payment value has reached $1 trillion or 84 trillion rupees, based on its lead in UPI transactions. “We are pleased to have reached the $1 trillion annual TPV rate. We look forward to the next wave of UPI payments growth in India with offerings like 'UPI lite', 'UPI international' and 'credit on UPI' to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians,” PhonePe's Head of Consumer Business Sonika Chandra said in a statement.

PhonePe holds over 50% market share in the UPI space. This has increased the company's TPV run speed, according to the statement. "The company has also received in-principle approval for its PA (payment aggregator) license from the RBI," it said in a statement.

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is also considering investing $100-150 million in PhonePe in the payments processor's ongoing funding round, the Economic Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.