Sameer Nigam Biography: Journey from Flipkart to PhonePe

By Archita LotaniTuesday July 22, 2025

Did you know that over 500 million Indians use PhonePe to manage their digital money transfers today? Sameer Nigam, the visionary co-founder and CEO, is credited among those leaders who have brought the fintech revolution to India. Sameer Nigam’s entrepreneurial journey is both inspiring and instructive—from launching a successful startup to joining Flipkart and then establishing one of India’s biggest digital payment platforms.

As India rapidly shifts to a cashless economy, having pioneers like Sameer Nigam is crucial. In this article, we explore the entrepreneurial path of PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam and uncover key lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs from his success.

Sameer Nigam’s Biography

Born	1978 in Delhi
Education	Master’s in Computer Science and Business Administration in Entrepreneurship
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Known as	PhonePe CEO and PhonePe founder
Net Worth	INR 17.7 crore [2017]

Source: EY

Sameer Nigam’s Education: Born in Delhi, Sameer completed his schooling at DPS Noida. He pursued Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Further, he completed his master’s in computer engineering from the University of Arizona and also pursued a degree in Business Administration in Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School. This diverse educational background gave Sameer a combination of technical knowledge and experience in business management.

Sameer Nigam’s Family: Sameer’s father is an IIT graduate and has worked in the Indian Navy. His mother is also an entrepreneur and has cleared the IAS in the first attempt at the age of 40. His wife is a strategy consultant. At present, they all live in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Sameer Nigam Professional Career & Entrepreneurial Journey

Starting at Shopzilla

Source: CB Insights

Sameer started his career in 2001 by working as the Director of Search Product Development at Shopzilla till 2007. By working there, he developed an understanding of the online behaviours of consumers and the nature of digital products.

Establishing Mime360

Source: Tech in Asia

In 2009, Sameer launched his first venture, Mime360, a unique online social media distribution channel for promotion in Mumbai. It worked as a platform for connecting content owners with content publishers, including Saregama, Indiatimes, and others.

Mime’s security is aided by the API Feeds that prevent piracy and allow a large number of publishers to sell the licensed content at the global level. Additionally, it eliminates different costs for partners, such as content management, storage, and local data centre bandwidth. It also allows authorised content owners to set regional pricing.

With Mime360’s rising success, Flipkart acquired Mime360 in 2011. After the acquisition, some of Mime’s employees started working at Flipkart to launch a digital music distribution service.

Joining Flipkart

Source: Aerospike

Sameer also started working at Flipkart in the Marketing and Engineering divisions. He worked there as the Vice President and the Senior Vice President, building his strengths in management, internet marketing, and product design and development. While working there, he witnessed the growing demand for solutions to go digital for money transfer in India’s economy.

Launching PhonePe

Source: Aerospike

With a deep study of the growing demand for digital solutions, Sameer found a niche market that was occupied by PayPal, Venmo, and Alipay in the global market. Observing them bringing revolution, and the stressful procedures of banking in India and abroad, Sameer realised that such a service is required to bring ease to financial services in India.

Thus, in 2015, Sameer left the comfort of Flipkart and launched PhonePe with Rahul Chari, one of the simplest Unified Payments Interface [UPI] platforms for peer-to-peer transfers. At the same time, the government launched ‘Digital India’ to promote digital transactions and payments. The initiative gave Sameer and Rahul a sense of confidence and security, and they knew that they were going to achieve success.

In the beginning, PhonePe was facing some issues in developing a differentiator product. Hence, the founder and CEO of PhonePe, Sameer Nigam and his team started focusing on building a platform that was easy to use for Indian consumers. In August 2016, PhonePe partnered with Yes Bank to launch a UPI-based mobile payment app with over 11 Indian languages.

In 2016, Flipkart also acquired PhonePe. Additionally, in 2018, Flipkart was sold to Walmart Inc. of the US for $16 billion. Consequently, in 2020, Flipkart and PhonePe announced a partial split, and the two entities now operate separately. However, Walmart continues to hold the majority ownership in PhonePe.

In 2022, PhonePe got licensed to operate a Semi-Closed Prepaid Payment System by the RBI. In addition, they also enabled international UPI payments for Indian users travelling abroad. In April 2023, they launched a shopping app called ‘Pincode’ that aimed to be a hyperlocal e-commerce platform, built on top of the ONDC platform.

In 2023 and 2024, the company also launched Share.Market and Indus Appstore to enter the stock broking and app market. By 2023, with 500 million registered users operating in 11 languages, PhonePe was one of India’s most-used apps. Sameer’s customer-first approach made PhonePe stand out among competitive big players.

PhonePe’s valuation reached INR 99,000 crore by 2023 by expanding internationally, serving NRIs and global consumers. The company reported a net revenue of over INR 5,000 crore in FY24 with a workforce of approximately 14,000. Additionally, in December 2024, Sameer and other co-founders pledged a $1 million grant to Sardar Patel Institute of Technology to support infrastructure and student innovation.

In the general meeting held on 16 April 2025, the company became officially a public company and was renamed to PhonePe Limited. To boost the domestic listing, the company also shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India.

Under the leadership of Sameer, PhonePe appointed four investment banks: Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley to guide them through the IPO journey. Backed by Walmart with Sameer’s leadership, PhonePe is targeting a valuation of up to $15 billion with its focus on strengthening the company’s presence in India’s fast-growing fintech sector.

Awards and Recognitions

In 2008, Sameer was conferred with the Wharton Venture Award from the Wharton Business School.
In 2018, PhonePe was recognised by the National Payments Corporation of India [NPCI] for attracting the highest number of merchant transactions on the UPI network.
In 2018, PhonePE received the Best Mobile Payment Product or Service Category at the IAMAI India Digital Awards.
In 2018, it also won the UPI Digital Innovation Award from NPCI and the Best SuperStarUp Asia Award.
In 2018, PhonePe won the Telecom and Technology category award at the India Advertising Awards.
In 2019, Sameer attended the 16th NASSCOM Product Conclave, held in Bangalore.
In 2019, Sameer also attended Money 20/20 Asia as a speaker in the Central Region, Singapore.
In 2019, it received the Best Digital Wallet initiative at the 8th annual Indian Retail & eRetail Awards conducted by Zee Business and The Economic Times.
In 2024, PhonePe was awarded the Fintech Person of the Year- India at the Global Fintech Fest.

Sameer Nigam Leadership

Source: Mint

Sameer Nigam’s leadership is the ideal combination of vision, innovation, and determination. Sameer has remained at the forefront of action from his Flipkart days to establishing PhonePe as one of India’s most reliable fintech platforms. What sets his leadership apart is that he can identify gaps in the market and capitalise on them with bold yet practically calculated moves.

Whether it is opening PhonePe at the very moment India was adopting digital payments or venturing into stock broking and app stores, he never hesitated to explore the unregulated market. Moreover, his customer-centric approach with simplicity brought digital finance to millions of Indians across the nation.

PhonePe not only scaled under Sameer’s leadership but also revolutionised the way India paid, and that’s the real testament to a visionary founder and leader, Sameer Nigam.

Learning Values for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Continuously observe market trends and enter when opportunities arise.
Embrace new technologies and drive innovation to experience rapid growth.
Focus on delivering exceptional user experiences to build loyal customer bases.
Operate within regulatory frameworks to avoid legal complications.
Build a strong team, like Sameer and Rahul did with PhonePe.
For long-term success, foster the 3Cs: Community, Credibility, and Collaboration.

Conclusion

With an eye for innovation and a deep understanding of business and technology, PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam has not only built PhonePe into a household name but also laid the foundation for India’s shift to a cashless economy. From his early days at Shopzilla to launching a fintech platform serving millions, Sameer Nigam has consistently demonstrated his leadership. His entrepreneurial journey reminds us that true impact comes not just from building companies but from transforming lives. By combining technical expertise with an inclusive vision, Sameer continues to shape the future of digital finance in India.