#FundingAlert: Lenskart raises $220 million from Temasek, Falcon Edge Capital
Bengaluru-based eyewear retail start-up Lenskart is now valued at $2.5 billion, following a fresh $220 million investment led by Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital. The start-up has raised a total of $315 million in this round, including the $95 million recently invested by private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. through a secondary transaction. Here are more details.
Lenskart has already turned profitable
Notably, a 2013 study estimated that over half a billion Indians suffer from poor vision and need eyeglasses but only 170 million people choose to have their vision corrected. Interestingly, Lenskart, which is now profitable, sold approximately eight million pieces of eyewear last year via online channels as well as through its 750 retail outlets spread across India.
Thrilled to join Lenskart, help it scale internationally: Falcon Edge
Founded by former Microsoft employee Peyush Bansal in 2010, Lenskart claims to be a market leader in the country. In a statement, Falcon Edge Capital's partner and co-founder Navroz Udwadia said, "We are thrilled to join Peyush and his team in this journey and look forward to working closely with Lenskart's team in helping them scale their business internationally, especially in the MENA region."
Lenskart envisions 50 percent of India wearing its eyewear
Bansal envisions half of India's spectacle wearers using Lenskart's offerings in the next five years. Bansal also said that Lenskart is one of the top three eyewear players in Singapore. Meanwhile, citing its projections, Lenskart said that the market for eyewear in Southeast Asia and the Middle East will be worth $15 billion by 2025. It plans to scale its operations in these markets.
Lenskart will use funding to create personalized experiences for customers
TechCrunch reported that the start-up plans to utilize the fresh funding to broaden its technology stack, thereby creating more personalized experiences for its customers. Seeing potential in South Asian and Middle Eastern markets, Bansal also expressed interest in expanding there "both organically and inorganically in the next 18 to 24 months". The start-up could also invest in younger firms through the Lenskart Vision Fund.
Lenskart joins other Indian start-ups capitalizing on pandemic-fueled boom
The fresh investment in Lenskart comes at a watershed moment for service sector Indian start-ups that are witnessing a pandemic-fueled boom in business volume and revenues. Last week, food delivery start-up Zomato became the largest firm to go public this year, with a post-IPO valuation of approximately Rs. 64,365 crore. In February, Zomato had raised Rs. 1,800 crore in funding led by Tiger Global.
