Taiwan-based semiconductor firm MediaTek has made a bet on India's online payments growth with a new US$60 million investment.
Mountain Capital, which is MediaTek's investment arm, reportedly made the investment in India's largest mobile payments and e-commerce firm, Paytm.
Paytm is 25% owned by Ant Financial, China-based Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.'s financial services affiliate, and MediaTek's strategic investment was made at a US$4.83 billion valuation. This tranche is part of a potential US$300 million round Paytm is trying to close.
Existing investors Ant Financial and SAIF Partners are likely to participate in the new round, while Foxconn and Fosun Group may join as well, according to media reports.
Paytm, which revealed that it had now pocketed US$760 million in total from investors, plans to use the proceeds for expansion of its existing business lines and to launch a new online bank.
Paytm, operated by parent One97 Communications, has 135 million digital wallets in use, accounting for 75% of India's total current digital wallets. Some three million transactions per day take place on Paytm's platforms. That compares to India's estimated 204 million smartphones.
Founded in 2000, Paytm's investors also include Intel Capital, Sapphire Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank, according to the company's official website.
