# Sameer Nigam

> Sameer Nigam is the Bengaluru-based co-founder and CEO of PhonePe. After working on shopping search at Shopzilla, founding digital media distributor Mime360 and taking marketing and engineering leadership roles at Flipkart, he co-founded PhonePe in 2015 with Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer. His work now spans payments, financial-services distribution and app discovery through Indus Appstore.

- **Role:** Founder, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer at PhonePe
- **Organizations:** PhonePe, Flipkart, Mime360, Shopzilla
- **Nationality:** Indian
- **Education:** Undergraduate engineering studies in computer science, University of Mumbai, Master’s degree in Computer Science, University of Arizona, MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Received the Wharton Venture Award in 2009., Built Mime360, acquired by Flipkart in 2011., Co-founded PhonePe in 2015 and led it as CEO.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2009** — Served as director of product management at Shopzilla and worked on its shopping search engine.
- **2009** — Founded Mime360, a digital media distribution platform; received the Wharton Venture Award.
- **2011** — Joined Flipkart after its acquisition of Mime360.
- **2012** — Led digital business discussions around Flipkart’s Flyte music and e-book offerings.
- **2015** — Co-founded PhonePe with Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer after leadership roles in Flipkart marketing and engineering.
- **2016** — Flipkart acquired PhonePe; the PhonePe app launched in August.
- **2020** — Led PhonePe during the disruption caused by restrictions on banking partner Yes Bank.
- **2022** — PhonePe completed its ownership separation from Flipkart and move to Indian domicile.
- **2024** — PhonePe launched Indus Appstore for consumers; Nigam and Chari announced a $1 million grant to SPIT.
- **2026** — Discussed international expansion and lending priorities while PhonePe’s IPO remained a prospective event.

## Achievements

- Received the Wharton Venture Award in 2009.
- Built Mime360, acquired by Flipkart in 2011.
- Co-founded PhonePe in 2015 and led it as CEO.
- PhonePe announced more than 700 million lifetime registered users in April 2026; this is not an active-user measure.
- Co-announced a $1 million grant to Sardar Patel Institute of Technology with Rahul Chari in December 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — At TechSparks, said PhonePe hoped to resume its IPO process when global markets stabilised; no listing date was committed.
- **2026-10** — Discussed lending priorities and planned UAE expansion in an interview published on 6 October.
- **2026-09** — Discussed possible foundational-AI investments, with structure still under board discussion and further decisions expected in 2027.
- **2026-04** — PhonePe announced that it had crossed 700 million lifetime registered users.

## Links

- Website: https://www.phonepe.com/
- LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/sanigam
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/_sameernigam

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sameer-nigam
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25