Lenskart raises $220 million amid bullish spree for India’s tech startups

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Lenskart, an online retailer for eyewear, raised $220 million from investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and Falcon Edge Capital, reflecting the growing investor interest in India’s technology startups.</p>
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It seems to be a boom time for Indian startups as the Lenskart fundraiser comes close on the heels of online food delivery startup Zomato raising Rs 9,375 crore through its first IPO last week and digital payments leader Paytm seeking approval to raise up to Rs 16,600 crore ($2.23 billion) in what could be one of the biggest IPOs in the country.</p>
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Lenskart, founded by Peyush Bansal in 2010, sells eyeglasses, contact lenses and sunglasses online and also through 750-odd retail outlets in the country. The startup's valuation is now $2.5 billion, the founder said.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>  <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/economy-news/after-zomato-paytm-seeks-regulator-s-nod-to-raise-rs-crore-via-ipo-102512.html">After Zomato, Paytm seeks regulator’s nod to raise Rs 16,600 crore via IPO</a></p>
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He said Lenskart has turned profitable now, despite the ups and downs during the Covid-19 lockdowns.</p>
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"We turned profitable at the company level before the pandemic, were in the red during the peak of the first and second waves and have returned to green again," Bansal said.</p>
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Lenskart plans to use the fresh funds, along with $95 million raised earlier this year from KKR & Co., to expand online sales and add brick-and-mortar stores in India, as well as in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.</p>
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Bansal graduated from Montreal's McGill University and then worked at Microsoft Corporation in the U.S., before returning to India 15 years ago to become an entrepreneur. He set up Lenskart Solutions in Faridabad and Japan's SoftBank Group was one of the early investors in the startup.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>  <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/latest-news/edtech-platform-upgrad-raises-rs-cr-from-temasek-ld-83708.html">Edtech platform upGrad raises Rs 898 cr from Temasek (Ld)</a></p>
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Lenskart sold about 8 million pairs of eyewear last year and is aiming to grow that by 30 per cent in the year ending March 2022, the startup said in an announcement on Monday.</p>
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Food-delivery app Zomato became the nation's first unicorn to make its stock-market debut, raising $1.3 billion. The digital payments startup Paytm filed a draft prospectus for what could be the country's biggest IPO ever.</p>
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Mr Bansal began his entrepreneurial career with a startup for solving the housing problems of college students, but then saw a brighter opportunity in selling eyewear.</p>
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"India is the blind capital of the world and about half of its 1.3 billion people need glasses," he quipped.</p>