PhonePe is planning to launch its app store for Android users in India and compete against the Google Play Store. This comes after the launch of its new shopping app called Pincode, which is built on top of the ONDC platform.
A document viewed by TechCrunch revealed that the app store is designed to offer hyper-localised services based on customer context and aims to assist developers with “high-quality” user acquisition through multilingual solutions.
A PhonePe spokesperson told TechCrunch that Google commands 97 per cent of the Indian app store market. Having amassed over 4500 million registered users in the country, PhonePe believes that the timing is favourable for them.
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“We expect to be live on all Android OEMs within the first few months of launch. We have already closed terms with one of the largest OEMs and are trying to get the others rapidly onboard over the next couple of months,” PhonePe confirmed to TechCrunch.
The company raised an additional $200 million in primary capital from Walmart in the mid of March 2023 at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.
According to reports, the Walmart-owned company has found support from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company plans to strengthen its engagement with smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi. The app store will support twelve languages and provide support with a 24x7 live chat facility.
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