- Unicorn payments and financial services According to persons familiar with the situation, PhonePe is in discussions to secure a fresh round of investment headed by General Atlantic at a valuation of more than $12 billion, making the Walmart-backed business the most valuable fintech in India.
- “General Atlantic is likely to lead the round with a $450-$500 million investment,” one of the individuals quoted above stated.
- If the investment is successful, PhonePe would join the ranks of Flipkart, which was purchased by Walmart, Paytm (which went public last year), Byju’s, and Swiggy as a decacorn, or a company valued at more over $10 billion.
- PhonePe’s valuation will also exceed that of Razorpay, the digital payments and neobanking startup, which was recently valued at at $7.5 billion.
- PhonePe’s fundraising discussions come at a time when its closest competitor, Paytm, has seen its valuation decrease by more than 60% since it went public in November of last year.
- However, Paytm generates far more income than PhonePe.
- Paytm’s revenue in FY22 was Rs 3,892.40 crore, whereas PhonePe’s revenue was Rs 1,646 crore.