India’s Paytm has raised about US$660 million in a new funding round from Alibaba’s Alipay, SoftBank’s Cayman Islands-registered entity SVF Panther, and funds managed by US-based T Rowe Price, among others.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm / Photo credit: Tech in Asia
The board of Paytm’s parent, One97 Communications, is set to allocate 2.6 million shares to the investors as part of the deal, Reuters reported, citing financial data acquired by Gurugram-based business intelligence platform Tofler.
The fintech startup’s latest raise comes less than a month after it secured US$1 billion at a US$16 billion valuation from T Rowe Price, Discovery Capital, D1 Capital, as well as existing backers SoftBank and Ant Financial.
Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma previously told The Times of India that it plans to use the funds to ramp up merchant expansion efforts in both online and offline channels and focus on lending, insurance, and new-age banking. The company also said it looks to set aside US$1.4 billion for the next three years to extend its reach into India’s more rural markets.
In November, Paytm revealed plans to invest US$70 million in early-stage AI-based companies that use big data to create India-specific solutions. The firm said it will also look for startups that support “India-first business solutions that are scalable and have the potential to generate large-scale employment.”
One97 recently reported a net loss of around US$550 million for the financial year that ended March 31, up 165% from a US$207 million loss in the previous year. Despite the widening losses, Sharma said Paytm is looking at a possible initial public offering by 2021 once it starts earning cash.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
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