Alpha Wave Ventures invests $100 mn in Lenskart

By Anuj Suvarna

  • 11 Apr 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Eyewear brand Lenskart has secured $100 million (Rs 760 crore) in a new round from Alpha Wave Ventures, regulatory filings showed.    

According to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Lenskart Solutions Pvt Ltd has approved a special resolution to approve 36,41,646 Series I shares at an issue price of Rs 2087.52 per share by Alpha Wave Ventures to raise Rs 760 crore.    

Entrackr first reported the development. 

In May last year, Lenskart raised $95 million in a funding led by private equity firm KKR & CO Inc. 

It turned unicorn in December 2019 after raising $275 million from SoftBank Vision Fund.  

A unicorn is a startup with a valuation of at least $1 billion.  

Prior to this, Lenskart secured funding in 2018 from Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital, tech investment firm Epiq Capital and TR Capital.    

Peyush Bansal led company counts TPG Growth, International Finance Corporation, PremjiInvest, Adveq Management and Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, among its investors.    

Recently, Lenskart announced the expansion of its online presence by offering its products on Nykaa, Myntra, Tata Cliq and other platforms.  

Apart from online sales, the company also has over 1,000 franchise stores and by the fiscal year 2023, it is looking to open 400 outlets across the country.    

In June 2021, Lenskart set up a vision fund with a corpus of $20 million (Rs 148 crore) for eyecare startups as it looks to tap into a niche segment in India’s growing healthcare industry.  

The company eyes investment up to $2 million in each of the selected startups through its vision fund.   

The eyewear retailer was founded in 2008 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Neha Bansal and Sumeet Kapahi. In addition to the online platform, it has a wholesale division engaged in the assembly, distribution and supply of eyewear.    

In FY21, Lenskart’s operating revenues grew by 1% to Rs 905.3 crore against Rs 900 crore in FY20. The company had increased its annual profits by nearly 4.6 folds to Rs 28.92 crore from Rs 6.32 crore during FY20, filings in RoC showed.