When Walmart got a $10 billion Phone Pe surprise after buying Flipkart

PhonePe has grown into one of India's leading digital payments companies

When Walmart Inc paid $16 billion for control of India’s e-commerce pioneer Flipkart Online Services Pvt last year, the American retail giant got a little-noticed digital payments subsidiary as part of the deal. Now the business is emerging as one of the country’s top startups, a surprise benefit for Walmart from its largest-ever acquisition.

Flipkart’s board recently authorized the PhonePe Pvt Ltd. unit to become a new entity and explore raising $1 billion from outside investors at a valuation of as much as $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be named because the discussions are