Lenskart, a Delhi-based etailer for eyewear, has raised $60 Mn (INR 400 crore) Series D funding. The round was led by World Bank arm IFC with an investment of $25.6 Mn (INR 171 crore). Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Zurich-headquartered asset management firm Adveq Management, along with the existing investor TPG Growth and IDG Ventures, also participated in the round. Last month, Inc42 had reported that Ratan Tata has made an investment in Lenskart.
The raised funds will be utilised for strengthening its technology, supply chain, lens manufacturing, and expansion across 400 cities. “The idea is to fill the large gap relating to vision correction that currently exists in India, and we were looking as to how to set up Lenskart, to try and revolutionise eyewear in India, and that really appealed to IFC,” said Peyush Bansal, founder, Lenskart.
Lenskart Solutions, formerly known as Valyoo Technologies, was launched in 2010 by Peyush. It started as an online portal but soon adopted an omni-channel strategy. It now deals in manufacturing, assembly, distribution and supply of products such as eyeglasses, power sunglasses and contact lenses.
The company conducts over 1,500 eye exams daily through its home eye exam service, which it intends to make available for every home in urban and rural India.
Earlier, the company also tried to diversify into different segments such as bags, watches and jewellery. But those were shut down in 2014, owing to high amount of competition and to retain focus on its core brand.
The portal has, to date, raised $95.97 Mn. The earlier funding of $21.9 Mn in Series C in January was done at a valuation of $240 Mn. TPG Growth, TR Capital and IDG Ventures participated in that round. Earlier in 2013, the company raised $10 Mn from Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and IDG Ventures. In 2011, the company raised $4 Mn from IDG.
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