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Deepti Sri · · 1 min readReport: SoftBank-backed Lenskart hits $2.5b valuation after $220m raise
“Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital have led a US$220 million investment in Indian omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart, valuing the Bangalore-based startup at US$2.5 billion,” TechCrunch reported.
Details:
- The fresh funding is part of Lenskart’s new round that began in June when the company raised US$95 million from investment fund KKR. Lenskart sold about 8 million pairs of eyewear last year.
- The new investment will help the online eyewear marketplace scale its operations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East over the next 18 to 24 months. Lenskart is also looking to invest in younger firms that operate in eyewear, eye care, and other omnichannel retail spaces.
Dive deeper:
- Lenskart has been one of India’s rising startups in the ecommerce space. The company raised over US$275 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank in December 2019. (Read: Rising startups: textile trading platform in China, unicorn eyewear firm in India)
- Lenskart’s fresh fundraise comes amid a rush of companies wanting to go public in India. A slew of tech startups in the country, including MobiKwik, Paytm, and PhonePe, are preparing to make their stock market debuts. (Read: The leading Asian tech players eyeing an IPO in 2021)
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Arpit Nayak
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