Lenskart, an eyewear startup, has secured $500 million in funding from a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the largest funding rounds in recent history, at its current valuation of $4.5 billion. The investment will consist of primary and secondary share purchases, and the transaction’s completion is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals. Lenskart has raised almost $750 million since 2022, according to the eyewear company. ADIA will become one of Lenskart’s largest shareholders as a result of the investment.
The company plans to use the funds to increase its presence in India and expand its reach in Asia and the Middle East. According to the company, Lenskart currently has over 2,000 stores, with 1,500 in India and the remainder in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Lenskart claims that it will soon launch a new factory capable of producing 20 million eyewear pairs that the firm intends to ship next year. The startup, led by Peyush Bansal, claims to have increased revenue by 60% for two consecutive years and is now profitable.
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Despite a 66% revenue increase, the company incurred losses in the 2021-22 fiscal year, reporting a loss of INR 102 crore ($13.7 million) compared to a profit of INR 28 crore ($3.8 million) in the previous year. Bansal declared that Lenskart is still in its early days. To make matters worse, myopia is a rampant issue and roughly 80-90% of people in some parts of Asia are affected by it. Not surprisingly, vision correction has become an increasingly worrying problem for the masses. We are still at the initial phases of our endeavor and have a lot to accomplish in order to cause an impactful transformation. Fortunately, with its long-term investment strategies, ADIA is the perfect ally as we venture into the subsequent step of our voyage.
Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Neha Bansal, and Sumeet Kapahi established Lenskart in 2008. Fast-forward to 2019 and it has joined the list of unicorns with major investors like SoftBank, Alpha Wave Global, Temasek, KKR and TPG. As per Tracxn’s report, over $1.5 billion has been garnered through 19 funding rounds till now.
Last year, the company acquired a majority stake in Owndays, a Japanese direct-to-consumer eyewear company, one of the largest omnichannel players in the region. In addition, Lenskart has launched a buyback scheme that allows employees with at least two years of tenure to sell up to 50% of their vested employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares. This allows early employees to liquidate a portion of their holdings and create wealth while retaining their shares in the firm. The transaction is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals.
