PhonePe, an Indian financial service and digital payments company, has recently secured a large investment of $100 million from three renowned firms: Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global & TVS Capital Funds. Their pre-money valuation is estimated to be around $12 billion. Additionally, this funding follows the primary fundraising of $350 million that was accomplished by PhonePe back in January. The business indicated that it intended to increase up to $1 billion through various stages following its domicile move to India and anticipates that additional investments from distinguished international and Indian high networth investors will shortly be forthcoming. PhonePe has recently secured funding to generate growth in its variety of services such as payments, insurance and e-commerce. Furthermore, the company is aiming to introduce new services such as lending, stockbroking, ONDC-based shopping & account aggregation in the future.
Tiger Global Partner, Scott Shleifer, expressed enthusiasm about their collaboration with PhonePe, remarking that the digital payments industry in India is still emerging but offers immense growth possibilities. He noted that PhonePe is at the vanguard of this sector. PhonePe was set up in 2015 by ex-Flipkart heads – Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari & Burzin Engineer. It has gained immense popularity since then and has over 400 million users today. Furthermore, it is currently leading the UPI transactions’ space in India. The company commands a 47% market share in monthly UPI volumes.
According to Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds, PhonePe has emerged as India’s leading transaction platform, boasting strong and advanced technology capabilities. Our investment decision was strongly influenced by the rapid growth of financial services in the payments, insurance, and lending arenas. We identified two major opportunities through ONDC and Appstore, which further strengthened our investment thesis.
Also Read: Experience the Power of UPI Payments Globally with PhonePe’s UPI International
In 2017, PhonePe ventured into the financial services sector, allowing its customers to easily buy gold, insurance, and mutual funds online, as well as make bill and utility payments. In December, the company completed its hive-off from Flipkart and shifted its domicile from Singapore to India. The company recently launched a cross-border payments service that allows users to pay foreign merchants using UPI. Currently, the feature is available in the UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Sameer Nigam, the CEO and Founder of PhonePe, commented on their funding round saying “We are eager to revolutionize India’s payment system and make digital transactions more accessible, comfortable and secure for everyone. We are delighted to partner with Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds in creating a comprehensive, full-stack financial services platform for the masses. Together we will make this innovative journey an exciting success.”
PhonePe’s focus on expanding its services and establishing a comprehensive financial services platform positions it well in the Indian market, which continues to experience rapid growth in digital payments and financial services. The recent funding round provides the company with the resources to scale its operations and establish a stronger foothold in the market.
