© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Shopping trolley is seen in front of Walmart logo in this illustration, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian digital payments firm PhonePe said on Friday it has raised $200 million from majority backer Walmart (NYSE:) Inc at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.
PhonePe, already India’s most valuable payments firm and among the country’s most highly-valued startups, said the investment is part of its ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion.
It has raised $350 million from private equity firm General Atlantic and $100 million from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in the past two months, at the same $12 billion valuation.
American retail behemoth Walmart, which acquired a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor, the Indian company said, without disclosing its stake.
Despite a funding winter, the Indian digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and startups’ ambitions to branch into the lucrative financial services space.
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