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General Atlantic has invested $600 million in digital payments major PhonePe, taking its shareholding up from 4.4% to roughly 9%, people familiar with the matter said. The transaction was a secondary share sale, not a fresh capital raise, and was designed to enable employees to exercise stock options and meet tax obligations, the sources added. No payouts were made to founders or other investors. Including this latest round, the US-based private equity firm has deployed around $1.15 billion into PhonePe since 2023. PhonePe declined to comment. Since early 2023, General Atlantic has steadily expanded its stake in PhonePe through a series of investments that reflect deepening conviction in the fintech’s prospects. The US-based private equity firm first led a $350 million primary infusion in January 2023, valuing PhonePe at about $12 billion and marking the opening tranche of a planned $1 billion fundraise. This was followed by an additional $100 million in April 2023 and another $100 million in May, bringing the total raised that year to $850 million as PhonePe sought capital to scale new businesses and strengthen its UPI offerings. Over time, General Atlantic’s cumulative investment in the Walmart-owned company reached roughly $1.15 billion. PhonePe has recently filed confidential draft papers with market regulators and stock exchanges as it prepares for one of the country’s largest initial public offerings. The Bengaluru-based company submitted a pre-filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (PDRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), as well as the BSE and NSE, according to a company statement. This filing allows PhonePe to engage with regulators and receive feedback before making public its trade-sensitive financial details. Meanwhile, another Bengaluru-based fintech, Groww, which took a similar route in May this year, is now moving ahead with its IPO plans and has released an updated DRHP. PhonePe reported a sharp rise in revenue for the year ended March 31, 2025 (FY25), even as losses persisted. Revenue from operations climbed 40.5% to Rs 7,114.9 crore in FY25, compared with Rs 5,064.1 crore a year earlier. Net losses narrowed 13.5% to Rs 1,727.4 crore from Rs 1,996.2 crore in FY24. (Edited by Jyoti Narayan)
