We have a real chance to become profitable: PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam

Online payments firm PhonePe has been spun off from ecommerce marketplace Flipkart and has received $700 million in fresh funding from Walmart. Sameer Nigam, cofounder and CEO of PhonePe explained to ET’s Ashwin Manikandan and Samidha Sharma what the new structure means for the company, the regulatory and competitive landscape in the sector, its IPO plan and big bets going forward. Edited excerpts:

You have long been in talks to raise external capital at a valuation much greater than $5.5 billion. Why didn’t these deals fructify into new investors coming on board?