BharatPe Co-Founder Shashvat Nakrani Steps Back to Pursue New Enterprise

BharatPe Founder Shashvat Nakrani Steps Back, Moves to Strategic Advisor Role

Shashvat Nakrani, the 29-year-old co-founder of India's fintech unicorn BharatPe, is stepping back from day-to-day operations at the company. As of May 1, Nakrani will transition into a strategic advisor role, while continuing to serve as a board director. This move marks a significant shift for the entrepreneur, who has been at the helm of BharatPe since its inception in 2018.

BharatPe's current valuation stands at $2.7 billion, making it a unicorn. The company has raised a total of $584 million across 18 funding rounds, with its most recent funding being a $10 million conventional debt round in March 2026. Nakrani will remain actively involved in several of the company's most consequential decisions, including fundraising, IPO planning, mergers and acquisitions, and long-term strategy.

Nakrani confirmed that he will remain BharatPe's largest individual shareholder and expressed confidence in the company's current leadership and governance. He believes that the team in place is well-positioned to carry the company forward without his daily presence.

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The decision to step back comes after a period of genuine reflection about what excites Nakrani most. In a LinkedIn post, he framed the decision as a return to instinct rather than a retreat from responsibility. "Building has always meant following curiosity," he wrote, signalling that the pull towards new ventures is the same restless energy that drove him to co-found BharatPe whilst still a third-year student at IIT Delhi.

Nakrani's journey with BharatPe began in 2018, when he co-founded the company with Ashneer Grover. The fintech company offers merchants a single QR code capable of accepting payments across all major apps, addressing a genuine pain point in India's rapidly digitising economy. BharatPe's success has been remarkable, with Nakrani becoming the youngest person to feature in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List in 2021, at just 23 years of age.

However, the journey has not been without its challenges. In December 2022, a day after BharatPe accused its ousted managing director Ashneer Grover and members of his family of embezzling company funds for personal expenses, Grover took to Twitter with a pointed counter-narrative. The dispute between Grover and BharatPe had escalated well beyond Twitter, with the company filing for arbitration and pursuing civil damages.

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Nakrani's decision to step back from day-to-day operations at BharatPe marks a new chapter in his entrepreneurial journey. As he moves into a strategic advisor role, he will continue to be involved in the company's most consequential decisions, shaping its future and guiding its growth.