NEW DELHI: Despite funding winter and slowdown in deal flow, eyewear start-up Lenskart has raised $500 million in funding from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
This is one of the largest funding rounds in recent times and the fundraising was done at about $4.2 billion valuation.
The investment will be made through the purchase of both primary and secondary shares and will result in ADIA becoming one of the largest shareholders in Lenskart.
Upon completion of the transaction, Lenskart will have attracted close to $750 million in capital over the last 12 months including recent fund-raising activities, making it one of the largest such growth-stage financings globally.
Peyush Bansal, Founder and CEO of Lenskart said, “It is still Day 1 at Lenskart. Vision Correction remains a big problem, and Myopia rates continue to grow rapidly, touching levels of as high as 80–90% in some parts of Asia. Hence, we are still very early in our journey and have a lot of work to do to continue to make our desired impact in this area of critical need.”
According to Maximize Market Research, the Indian eyewear market size will touch nearly $9.69 billion by 2027 with a CAGR of about 11.9%. Apart from expanding in India, Lenskart is also scaling its international presence in Asia and the Middle East. The company has over 2,000 stores of which 1,500 are in India with the balance in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Its new factory, which will play a significant role in manufacturing 20 million pairs of eyewear that the firm plans to ship next year, will be ready to launch soon. Lenskart grew revenue by 60% for the second year in a row and is now profitable. Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, executive director of, Private Equities Department, ADIA said, “This investment is a continuation of our strategy of investing in highly differentiated, market-leading businesses in Asia linked to the region’s consumption-driven growth and rapid technological advancement.”