IFC leads $60m round for India's Lenskart
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a INR4 billion ($60 million) Series D round of funding for Indian online eyewear retailer Lenskart.
Other investors in the round included Adveq Management and existing backers TPG Growth and IDG Ventures, as well as Ratan Tata and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. IFC previously disclosed its planned $25 million investment in Lenskart in February.
Lenskart manufactures, assembles and distributes eyewear products such as glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses, and also provides home eye examination services aimed at lower-income customers. The company will use the new capital to upgrade its technology and delivery supply chain, to construct a new lens manufacturing facility, and to expand its geographical reach into tier-three and tier-four cities.
"The Lenskart investment is a part of IFC's venture capital group's strategy to invest in innovative internet, healthcare and technology companies across emerging markets," said Pravan Malhotra, the lead for VC investments in South and Southeast Asia at IFC, in a statement. "This investment will support a rapidly growing market leader in the internet sector, while meeting a significant gap in the Indian eye care market." Malhotra will join Lenskart's board as part of the investment.
Lenskart launched in 2010 as a division of Valyoo Technologies, which also had divisions for selling watches, bags and jewelry; those divisions have been closed to focus on eyewear. TPG led the most recent funding round, a INR13.5 billion Series C round in 2015 in which IDG and Hong Kong-based TR Capital also participated.
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