Premji invests in India's Lenskart

Financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed; it comes just months after the company's INR4 billion ($60 million) Series D round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Lenskart will use the new capital to expand its online and offline service offerings, but founder and CEO Peyush Bansal told VC Circle that the primary purpose of the round was to bring in PremjiInvest as a new investor and take advantage of its experience building sustainable businesses.

The Economic Times reported that PremjiInvest's commitment included a stake held by IDG Ventures, though Bansal denied this report. IDG has participated in several funding rounds for Lenskart, beginning in 2011 with a $4 million investment in the company, then called Valyoo Technologies, and most recently in the IFC round.

Lenskart manufactures and distributes eyewear products including glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses through its e-commerce channels. It also provides home eye exams to low-income patients. The brand was originally launched in 2010 as one of several e-commerce divisions of Valyoo; the rest have since been closed, with the Lenskart brand and eyewear focus being adopted by the rest of the company.

PremjiInvest is active across multiple sectors, but in recent years has shown particular interest in technology-based companies both in India and overseas. Last year it led an $80 million Series C round for US-based mobile operating system developer Cyanogen and an $82 million Series F round for field service software developer ServiceMax.

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