Share.Market CEO Ujjwal Jain Steps Down Ahead Of PhonePe IPO
Ujjwal Jain, CEO of IPO-bound PhonePe’s stockbroking arm Share.Market and its wealth management vertical, has stepped down from his role after a near four-year stint.
In a post on LinkedIn, Jain termed his resignation as an end of a “decade-long Chapter 1”. “This is not a goodbye. This is a relaunch,” he said.
Jain founded wealth management startup WealthDesk in 2016 and retail-focused advisory OpenQ (Quantech Capital), along with Sujit Modi, in 2018.
In August 2023, PhonePe forayed into stock broking with thelaunch of Share.Market, under its subsidiary PhonePe Wealth Broking Pvt Ltd. Jain took charge as the CEO of this business.
While Jain did not disclose his next move, sources told Inc42 that he might be looking to start a new venture. In his post, Jain also highlighted the growing role of AI in financial services, noting that an “AI-first world” is reshaping industries, including wealth management.
Following his exit, PhonePe has internally reshuffled responsibilities within its wealth business. Vijay Ajmera, a senior leader who has been with the fintech platform for nearly seven years, will now head the vertical. Ajmera took over as the business head for Share.Market in February 2026.
Meanwhile, Nilesh Nayak will continue to lead the mutual funds business. He has played a key role in building PhonePe’s mutual fund distribution arm into one of the largest SIP platforms in the country.
OpenQ cofounder Modi will continue to oversee the investing and analytics functions. Both Nayak and Modi will report to Ajmera.
PhonePe Prepares For IPOThe development comes at a time when PhonePe is gearing up for its IPO. The fintech major, earlier this year, filed its updated DRHP for an IPO comprising entirely an offer for sale (OFS), with investors set to offload up to 5.06 Cr shares.
The company is reportedly targeting a ₹12,000 Cr raise at a valuation of about $15 Bn.
It is pertinent to note that the company, in March, temporarilypaused its IPO plans amid the conflict in West Asia and volatility in the global equity markets.
Operationally, PhonePe continued to dominate theUPI ecosystem in March, maintaining its leadership position. The Walmart-backed fintech platform crossed the 1,000 Cr transaction volume milestone during the month, processing transactions worth ₹14.48 Lakh Cr.
PhonePe has consistently held the largest share in UPI transactions, significantly ahead of peers like Google Pay and Paytm. While April data for individual apps is yet to be released, PhonePe is expected to retain its lead given its strong user base and merchant network.
The company’s dominance also comes amid ongoing regulatory discussions around market concentration. The proposed 30% market share cap by National Payments Corporation of India, if implemented, could eventually impact players like PhonePe, which currently commands a significantly higher share of UPI transactions.
On the financial front, PhonePe’s netloss widened 20% to ₹1,444.4 Cr in the first half of FY26 from ₹1,203.2 Cr in the year-ago period. However, its operating revenue rose 22.2% to ₹3,918.5 Cr during H1 FY26, compared to ₹3,207.5 Cr a year earlier.
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