EyeMyEye Raises Funding To Compete In The Heavily Competitive Eyewear Market

EyeMyEye has raised INR 20.5 Cr ($2.75 Mn) at a valuation of INR 102 Cr ($13.75 Mn) in a Pre-Series A funding round. Brijesh Agarwal (cofounder, Indiamart), Baskara Rao (CTO, Seviora Holdings: a subsidiary of Temasek) and Raghav Gupta (MD Asia Pacific for Coursera) participated in the round along with other high net worth individuals and angel investors. 

Founded in 2020 by Ganesh Iyer, Gurugram-based EyeMyEye is an ecommerce eyeglasses retailer that sells more than 6,000 (different SKUs of) prescription glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses etc. The startup claims to have 5.9 Mn unique visitors and 2 Mn sign ups since September this year, and the platform handled more than one lakh transactions in September. 

It plans to use the freshly raised capital for assortment expansion, technology and marketing to counter established competitors like Lenskart, Specsmakers, Coolwinks and Titan Eyeplus.

In October this year, Eye-wear startup ClearDekho had raised $4 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Ritesh Agarwal-led Aroa Ventures. ClearDekho’s Pre Series A round also saw participation from other investors such as CK Jaipuria Family Office (Pepsi Bottlers AP), NB Ventures Dubai, Anuj Sheth of AAJ Ventures, Kitty Agarwal of Infoedge, Anand Chandrasekaran, Nandi Vardhan Mehta, Venture Catalysts, SOSV MOX, Gemba Capital, among others.

Earlier this year in July, eyewear unicorn Lenskart had raised $220 Mn in a funding round led by Temasek and Falcon Edge, with participation from Bay Capital and Chiratae Ventures. The Faridabad-based venture raised fresh capital to fuel its global expansion in regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 

According to Research and Markets, the global eyewear market is projected to surpass $150.43 Bn by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.3%. Asian countries like China and India will lead growth in the market. 

According to Deloitte, the eyewear market in India is dominated by the unorganised sector which accounts for nearly 80% of the overall market. Still, the organised market share is growing rapidly at a pace of almost 15% CAGR. This growth is driven by increased consciousness regarding image and style, as eyewear gradually shifts towards being a fashion accessory.

Startups like Lenskart took advantage of the growing need for access to affordable branded eyewear as they built their omnichannel marketing strategy, attracting customers with branded eyewear at reasonable prices. 

Spectacles constituted nearly three-fourths of the total eyewear market in the country, with a market share of $5.4 Bn. Sunglasses account for nearly 15% of the total eyewear market in India, with non-polarised glasses dominating the $1.1 Bn sunglasses market.