PhonePe In Talks With Smartphone Makers For Pre-Installing Indus Appstore On Devices

PhonePe is in advanced talks with two major smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its Indus Appstore on their devices as it looks to onboard 150 Mn users by the end of the year.

Indus Appstore has formed strategic OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partnerships with Nokia and Lava, and is in advanced negotiations with several other major smartphone manufacturers to further expand its reach, Indus Appstore cofounder Akash Dongre told ET.

“Indus Appstore aims to have more than 150 Mn users by the end of the year and is ready to rival the scale of the competition by building deep partnerships with the developer ecosystem, focused on transparent policies, fair commissions and local support,” Dongre was quoted as saying.

The appstore claims to have achieved over 2 Mn downloads to date, with Tier-II cities accounting for 45% of its user base, indicating strong traction in these areas.

The appstore supports 12 Indian languages and includes features like voice and regional search. Video-led discovery features make it more than just a distribution platform, turning it into a consumer engagement and marketing tool, Dongre explained.

He also mentioned that the platform will capitalise on PhonePe group’s experience in developing straightforward and sustainable payment business models for developers.

Fintech giant PhonePe launched Android app marketplace Indus Appstore earlier this year to  take on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

In a statement, the company said that the platform hosts more than 2 Lakh apps across 45 categories. Several Indian brands, including Zomato, Myntra, Domino’s, Flipkart, Dream11, and Swiggy, have published their apps on Indus Appstore.

PhonePe acquired the parent company of Indus Appstore in May 2022 for $90 Mn. It was originally cofounded by Rakesh Deshmukh, Akash Dongre and Sudhir Bangarambandi. While Dongre and Bangarambandi are still working with the app marketplace, Deshmuk resigned in January this year.

The marketplace is currently offering “no app listing fees” for developers till March 2025. The launch of the app marketplace came at a time when Google is involved in disputes with Indian startups over its commission rates and the rollout of its new user choice billing system.

Earlier this year, the app store delisted dozens of Indian apps for not complying with its terms and conditions. While the issue was later resolved temporarily, the dispute remains.

According to a report, Indians spent nearly 1.1 Tn hours on mobile apps in 2023, up from 800 Bn hours in 2022.

India also emerged as the second largest source of app downloads globally, totaling 26.4 Bn downloads in 2023. On average, Indians spent 4.77 hours per day on their mobile phones, surpassing users in the US, UK, Japan, and China in daily usage.