According to The Economic Times, Juspay's Ishan Sharma reflected on the company's journey from initial expectations of solving payments within two years to the current reality of operating at population scale. The Bengaluru-based payments infrastructure company became India's first unicorn of 2026 after a $50 million follow-on round led by WestBridge Capital, valuing it at $1.2 billion. The company now processes around 350 million transactions a day, a scale that Sharma noted is unprecedented even among Silicon Valley companies. As reported by The Economic Times, Sharma emphasized that the team remains focused on input metrics rather than tracking outcomes, arguing that quality of input should determine outcomes naturally. "Our job is to figure out the input metrics," he said. "Outcome has to be a function of the quality of input that we are giving. So, we keep our heads down, keep working, and these things would just keep happening on the side. They are not under control."
As reported by The Economic Times, artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant enabler for Juspay's global expansion and operational efficiency. Sharma explained that AI has enabled the company to launch in new countries and payment methods without substantial investment, resulting in higher productivity and controlled costs. The operational improvements are tangible, with customer complaint resolution times for refunds and chargebacks reduced from three to four days to significantly less time. This enhanced efficiency has made life materially easier for merchants who rely on Juspay's infrastructure, demonstrating the practical benefits of AI integration in payments processing.
According to The Economic Times, Sharma pointed to a particularly striking shift in the payments landscape: the migration of traditional, offline-heavy businesses into digital payments. "I think a lot of merchant partnerships were announced and especially global brands like Decathlon, Maruti Suzuki," he said. "It's very interesting; I was talking to the team that suddenly we are seeing that so-called traditional companies are coming into the online fold." This trend represents a fundamental change in how businesses approach payments infrastructure, with established companies recognizing the benefits of digital payment solutions. The company has anchored its vision with fresh merchant partnerships including global brands such as Decathlon and Maruti Suzuki and recent infrastructure collaborations.
According to The Economic Times, Sharma described the Indian regulatory environment as open and supportive, particularly highlighting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as being receptive to innovation. He noted that ecosystem-wide events like the Global Fintech Fest allow direct interaction between startups, banks, and policymakers, creating a level of accessibility he hasn't observed elsewhere. While acknowledging that some guidelines can feel overwhelming, such as recent rules on two-factor authentication and payment aggregator norms, Sharma expressed confidence that the RBI is thinking several moves ahead about ecosystem health and end customer protection.
As reported by The Economic Times, Sharma emphasized that Indian fintechs must aim beyond regional dominance or cross-border remittances, targeting developed markets where they can compete on technology and performance. He cited Zoho as an inspiration for building a global brand from India, while acknowledging Juspay's own invisibility despite millions of smartphones running on its infrastructure. During his first trip to San Francisco, Sharma realized that global branding work is absolutely required for Indian companies to compete internationally. The company has anchored its vision with fresh merchant partnerships including global brands such as Decathlon and Maruti Suzuki and recent infrastructure collaborations.
According to The Economic Times, Sharma outlined a vision for the future where businesses pay each other automatically through invoice automation, representing a shift from person-to-person payments to business-to-business transactions. However, he expressed concerns about the security implications of agent e-commerce, noting that users may be uncomfortable giving payment authority to even family members, let alone agents. The attack surface is expanding as payments infrastructure becomes more powerful, with fraudsters targeting new models that emerge every few days. Sharma emphasized that staying ahead demands relentless investment and vigilance, requiring the entire ecosystem to rise to meet security challenges together.
