PE fund ChrysCapital invests $100 million in eyewear startup Lenskart

This brings the total investment in Lenskart to $850 million in the last year, according to a statement on the latest infusion. In March, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the Gulf Sovereign wealth fund (SWF), had invested $500 million in the company.

ET was the first to report about ChrysCapital’s potential investment in Lenskart, in its February 23 edition. ChrysCapital has backed new-age firms such as Dream11, FirstCry, and Xpressbees.

Lenskart, which claims to have about 20 million customers, plans to continue widening its reach in India as well as internationally, across Asia and the Middle East. It had acquired Japan’s Owndays last year in a $400 million deal to expand its presence across markets such as Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“Incidences of myopia are rapidly growing globally, especially in Asia, including India, with big unsolved problems of access, affordability, and awareness. We believe that with the help of technology, customer centricity, and big investments in supply chain and talent, we can eradicate the problem of vision correction,” Lenskart cofounder and CEO Peyush Bansal said in a statement welcoming the investment from ChrysCapital. “Eyewear as a lifestyle category is at a very early stage in its evolution, and there is a lot of opportunity to make glasses that can uplift our quality of life significantly as seen in shoes, apparel, and watches.”

Rajiv Batra, SVP, ChrysCapital Advisors, said Lenskart has a strong execution-focused management team that has established dominant market leadership in the eyewear segment.

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“Lenskart has been instrumental in developing this market… With the acquisition of Owndays, there is an opportunity for Lenskart to expand across over 10 Asian countries in addition to the already-large Indian market. This investment aligns with ChrysCapital’s strategy of backing founders that are category creators and who leverage technology to offer an outstanding customer experience,” Batra added.