Walmart powers Flipkart with an additional $1.2 billion⁠ to help e-tailer battle Google, Facebook, and Amazon

• Walmart has invested $1.2 billion in Flipkart in an equity round, two years after it bought a 77% stake in the Indian retail giant for $16 billion.
• The round values Flipkart at $24.9 billion.
• Now, there’s Walmart, Amazon, Facebook and reportedly, Google all betting on India’s retail tech ecosystem.

Walmart has invested $1.2 billion in Flipkart in an equity round, two years after it bought a 77% stake in the Indian retail giant for $16 billion. The round values Flipkart at $24.9 billion.

Walmart’s renewed faith in Flipkart comes when India’s retail tech ecosystem has seen a major push from the tech giants – with Facebook’s $5.7 billion bet in Jio and Google’s talks of investing $4 billion in Jio Platforms. Both of these investments could boost Jio’s e-commerce venture JioMart.

But that’s not all. The news also comes just days after Amazon had invested ₹2300 crore or $305 million into its Indian arm, following Jeff Bezos $1 billion investment promise to India. Earlier this year, Amazon had also signed a long-term business agreement with Kishore Biyani’s Future Group.

Walmart’s funds for Flipkart will come in in two tranches.

"Since Walmart's initial investment in Flipkart, we have greatly expanded our offer through technology, partnerships and new services. Today, we lead in electronics and fashion, and are rapidly accelerating share in other general merchandise categories and grocery, all while providing increasingly seamless payment and delivery options for our customers. We will continue innovating to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online,” said Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy in a statement.

Flipkart recently surpassed 1.5 billion visits per month and reported 45-percent growth in monthly active customers and 30-percent growth in transactions per customer for FY20, the company said.

"Flipkart continues to leverage its culture of innovation to accelerate growth and enable millions of customers, sellers, merchants and small businesses to prosper and be a part of India's digital transformation," said Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International.