Abu Dhabi fund to invest $500m in Indian eyewear startup

The UAE’s sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will invest $500 million in Lenskart, becoming the largest stakeholder in the India-based eyewear retailer.

The companies have signed a definitive document through which ADIA’s wholly owned subsidiary will route the investment by purchasing both primary and secondary shares in Lenskart. 

The deal is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals.

The eyewear startup will have attracted close to $750 million in capital over the past 12 months after the closure of the new deal.

Lenskart continues to deepen its penetration in India as it rapidly scales its international presence in Asia and the Middle East, it said in a statement. 

The startup now has over 2,000 stores, of which 1,500 are in India, with the balance in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The company’s new factory will be launched soon, manufacturing 20 million pairs of eyewear for exports.

Lenskart’s revenue grew by 60 percent in 2022 for the second consecutive year, becoming profitable, the statement said without giving details.

Peyush Bansal, founder and CEO of Lenskart, said that the next phase of the journey is to enable innovation and execution at scale, as well as solve a large bottleneck hindering high-quality vision for all.

Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, executive director, Private Equities Department, ADIA, said the investment is a continuation of its strategy of investing in highly differentiated, market-leading businesses in Asia linked to the region’s consumption-driven growth and rapid technological advancement.

Lenskart is backed by marquee investors, which include SoftBank, Alpha Wave Incubation, Premji Invest and Kedaara Capital.