Walmart's Indian e-commerce company Flipkart has raised $3.6 billion in a new round of funding, closing its latest round at a valuation of about $37.6 billion.

Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart for $16 billion three years ago and has been planning an IPO. On the other hand, SoftBank, which previously sold its stake in Flipkart to Walmart, is now reinvesting in Flipkart.

The Blackstone Group-backed Antara Capital and six sovereign wealth and pension funds also participated in the round, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the country's sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Singapore's GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

It is reported that Flipkart may go public in the U.S. in 2022 after this round of funding. The company's funding came when the competition intensified in the Indian e-commerce market, with Amazon and India's Reliance Industries and Tata Group increasing spending to attract more merchants and consumers to their platforms.