PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam thinks AI companies are overvalued
What's the story
Sameer Nigam, the co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, has said that while artificial intelligence (AI) isn't overhyped, the valuations of companies in this space are definitely overstated. He was speaking at the third edition of Moneycontrol's Startup Conclave. "The valuation will readjust. In private markets, you get a premium for the market leader. But public markets compare across the industries," he added.
AI evolution
Next wave of AI users coming from voice-based AI agents
Speaking about the future of AI, Nigam said that the next wave of users could come from voice-based AI agents capable of interacting in vernacular languages. He stressed that while search has been foundational, established businesses across sectors won't be replaced by AI companies.
Market expansion
India's payments market has long way to go: Nigam
Despite its growth in the digital payments market, Nigam said PhonePe still operates like a start-up.
He also emphasized that India's payments market has a long way to go with another 500 million users yet to join the network.
"We want to see a home grown product company go global," he added, highlighting his ambition for Indian companies on the global stage.
Business strategy
PhonePe aggressively scaling insurance business
Nigam revealed that PhonePe is aggressively scaling its insurance business, aiming for a 100x growth in financial services.
He said the firm's original mission was to reach a billion users and that it now has a sustainable model to scale its business.
"The mission was to reach a billion users. There is now sustainable model to scale," he said.