India-based ecommerce, Flipkart 's biggest shareholder Walmart , has announced that it has infused about USD 600 million in a new fundraise for the startup. Per the official announcement, Flipkart is in talks to raise a total of USD 1 billion in fresh funds.

New investors are also in talks to join the round and the latest funding is likely to value the Indian firm at a premium of about 5% to 10% to its current valuation of USD 33 billion, reportedly. The US-based retailer Walmart has been accelerating its growth in India since 2018 when it bought a 77% stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion. Two years later, it committed to importing USD 10 billion of goods from India each year by 2027.

Earlier in 2023, Walmart strengthened its influence in Flipkart by acquiring the remaining stakes held by hedge fund Tiger Global and venture capital firm Accel for USD 1.4 billion. The extent of Walmart's stake post-acquisition was not immediately apparent. As Flipkart evolved, it emerged as one of the main online marketplace in India, concentrating on small towns and cities—a strategy different from its competitor Amazon, which exhibits a more urban orientation.

Reportedly, in 2022, Flipkart pushed back its plans to go public to 2023 and internally raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to USD 60- USD 70 billion. More from Walmart In December 2023, US-based payments network Affirm expanded its services with Walmart to bring its solutions to self-checkout kiosks at over 4,500 stores in the region. Following the announcement, Affirm would provide its transparent and flexible pay-over-time options to self-checkout kiosks, with eligible shoppers being able to make monthly payments when checking themselves out in-store for their purchases, including electronics, apparel, and toys, among others.

In October 2023, Walmart Canada partnered with Klarna to introduce flexible BNPL payment methods for customers from the region who shop online. Throughout this partnership, clients and users from Canada will be enabled to benefit from interest-free Buy Now, Pay Later offerings powered by Klarna. The service would be available at checkout on Walmart.ca and through the Walmart Canada and Klarna mobile applications.

Through this solution, the companies aim to deliver users more payment choices and flexibility, as well as the capability to save money and manage their funds in a more secure and effective manner. .