Paytm shares bounce back as digital payments company reveals AI focus in annual report

Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma wrote, in a letter to shareholders, that the company is investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an eye on building an Artificial General Intelligence software stack. “We believe by building it in India we are not only making our country’s tech capability, also creating something that could be leveraged outside India,” he added.

Paytm released its annual report for the financial year 2022-23 on August 21. | Image: Reuters

Paytm shares were in demand on Tuesday, halting a three-day losing streak, after the digital payments company released its annual report for the financial year 2022-23. The stock of Paytm parent One97 Communications gained by as much as Rs 23.8, or 2.8 per cent, to touch Rs 861.7 apiece in morning deals, coming within Rs 54 of a 52-week high registered in June. One97 shares had declined 4.2 per cent in the past three trading sessions.

In the annual report, released post-market hours on Monday, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the company is investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an eye on building an Artificial General Intelligence software stack. “We believe by building it in India we are not only making our country’s tech capability, (but) also creating something that could be leveraged outside India,” he wrote in a letter to shareholders.

The Paytm CEO reiterated the company’s commitment to building a long-term profitable business. “In my opinion, in the next three years you will see some worthy numbers and results of hard work put in by the team,” he said.

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Last month, Paytm reported a 39 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue to Rs 2,342 crore for the quarter ended June 30, driven by soaring demand for loans. Its operating profit for the three-month period came in at Rs 84 crore as against an operating loss of Rs 275 crore for the corresponding period a year ago.

Paytm — which defines operating profit as core profit before cost of employee stock-owning plans — first reported an operating profit for the final three months of 2022, nine months ahead of schedule.

“It was a landmark year for us as we achieved operating profitability at the end of Q3FY23, three quarters ahead of the September 2023 guideline,” Paytm wrote in the annual report.

Earlier, Paytm mentioned it was gunning for cashflow positive as its next milestone.

What Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said on AI and technology

The Paytm CEO said the company is building an "India scale Al system which will help various financial institutes in capturing possible risks and frauds, while also protecting them from new kinds of risks due to advancement in Al".

India has an opportunity to become a net exporter of payment technology, software and hardware, he said, exuding confidence that the fintech firm will "lead the way” in this regard.

He also said Paytm Labs is constantly building various Al and big data features that enhance payment trust when consumers or merchants use Paytm.

“In India, we can expect 500 million payment consumers and 100 million merchants not very far in future. This is made possible by Paytm leading from the front, our government’s agenda to drive Digital India and the regulator’s encouragement to build an open scalable payment system,” he wrote.