PhonePe, owned by Walmart, raises USD 350 million from General Atlantic at a USD12 billion pre-money valuation. The investment represents the first round of this month's start-up fundraising effort, which aims to raise up to USD 1 billion.

The fundraising round, which includes local and international investors, comes after PhonePe recently changed its country of residence to India and fully severed ties with e-commerce behemoth Flipkart. PhonePe intends to utilise the funds to invest in infrastructure, which will include creating data centres and expanding its array of financial services. The organisation also intends to make investments in brand-new industries like financing, insurance, and wealth management.

 PhonePe, which was established in December 2015, will enable it to "turbo-charge" digital payments in India and promote greater financial inclusion. More than one in four Indians utilise the company's services, which have more than 400 million registered customers.

"I want to express my gratitude to General Atlantic and all of our supporters, both old and new, for their faith in us. Our most recent round of fundraising will help us further advance the Government of India's aim of universal digital financial inclusion because we are an Indian company developed by Indians," said Sameer Nigam, founder and CEO of PhonePe.

Recently, PhonePe declared its complete separation from the Flipkart Group. Several Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the most recent split following a partial separation from Flipkart in December 2020. Both enterprises will be able to independently develop their businesses and design their own growth trajectories as a result of this decision.