PhonePe, a payments app, has raised $350 million in funding from global growth equity firm General Atlantic, valuing the company at $12 billion pre-money. The latest valuation places the Bengaluru-based startup in India's decacorn club (startups valued at more than $10 billion).The General Atlantic investment is the first instalment of a total fundraise of up to $1 billion that PhonePe has begun in January 2023. Other well known global and Indian investors have already committed to the second tranche, which is set to close next month. The fundraising comes on the heels of PhonePe's recently announced move to India and complete separation from Flipkart. PhonePe intends to use the new funds to make significant infrastructure investments, including the development of data centres, and to assist in the development of large-scale financial services offerings in the country.

In addition, the company intends to invest in new businesses such as insurance, wealth management, and lending. The funds will be used to help PhonePe accelerate the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI, in order to

increase financial inclusion for Indians. “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”, said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe.

The company intends to invest in new businesses such as insurance, wealth management, and lending

“Sameer Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalisation 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”, said Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic. PhonePe has also announced its complete separation from the Flipkart Group. Following the recent separation from Flipkart, a number of Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the recent separation. This move will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and assist in unlocking and maximising enterprise value for the two companies' shareholders.