Lenskart was founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, a former Microsoft employee, along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi. Headquartered in Gurugram, it has grown into Asia’s largest eyewear company, having served over 40 million people around the world.
Lenskart is a vertically integrated model, meaning the company handles every step, including designing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing eyewear. This approach allows Lenskart to offer more than 5,000 eyewear styles, a selection five times larger than what any other retailer in India provides. The range includes recognized global brands like RayBan and Oakley, as well as Lenskart’s own popular in-house collections.
Known for its use of technology, Lenskart combines digital tools with a strong offline presence to serve customers efficiently.
Today, Lenskart’s reach spans more than 1,500 omnichannel stores across 175+ cities in India, Singapore, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. Backed by a community of 10,000+ Lenskartians worldwide, the company now ships a pair of eyewear every 2.5 seconds, all thanks to its advanced, highly automated eyewear factory.
Lenskart’s product sales revenue grew by 43.1%, rising from INR 3,609.8 crore in FY23 to INR 5,166.2 crore in FY24.
Meet the Founders
Lenskart’s journey wouldn’t be what it is today without the vision of its founders. Let’s take a quick gander at the brains behind the brand!
Peyush Bansal
Peyush Bansal is an Indian entrepreneur, business executive, and angel investor, best recognized as the co-founder and CEO of Lenskart. He is also widely recognised as one of the “sharks” on ‘Shark Tank India’.
Born on April 26, 1985, in New Delhi, Peyush pursued his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical-IT, Control, and Automation from McGill University, Canada. During his studies, he worked part-time as a receptionist.
He began his professional career as a Program Manager at Microsoft’s Redmond office in the USA, working there for a year between January and December 2007. Driven by a desire to launch his own business, he then left Microsoft and returned to India to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions.
His first startup was SearchMyCampus, an online portal aimed at helping students find services and resources. Peyush then co-founded Lenskart in 2010 along with Sumeet Kapahi and Amit Chaudhary.
Beyond leading Lenskart, Peyush is also actively involved with the Lenskart Vision Fund and Lenskart Plus.
Amit Chaudhary
Amit Chaudhary was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, and pursued his engineering degree from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra. As a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Lenskart, Amit has played a crucial role in building and expanding the company’s operations from the ground up.
Sumeet Kapahi
Sumeet Kapahi is one of the co-founders of Lenskart and an alumnus of the University of Delhi. He was the third to team up with Peyush Bansal and Amit Chaudhary to launch the company. Sumeet brings with him deep experience from working with global eyewear brands, which has played a key role in shaping Lenskart’s product offerings and understanding of the eyewear market.
Neha Bansal
Neha began her professional path by earning a B.Com (Honors) degree, followed by becoming a qualified Chartered Accountant. She further specialized with a Certificate Course on Valuation from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Transitioning from a background in accountancy, Neha took on a co-founder role at Lenskart. She currently leads the merchandising and legal divisions, playing a key part in curating the brand’s product range and ensuring the company’s compliance and governance are robust.
Ramneek Khurana
Ramneek Khurana is the Co-Founder and Head of Product & Technology at Lenskart Solutions. He holds an MS in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
At Lenskart, Ramneek leads the product and technology teams, overseeing development across Android and iOS apps, web platforms, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and supply chain operations.
All You Can Do With Lenskart
Lenskart offers a comprehensive set of services focused on delivering both convenience and value to customers. At the core, they provide various free services including eye exams conducted by trained optometrists, frame adjustments, nosepad, and ultrasonic cleaning. These complimentary offerings apply to all eyewear, even if it wasn’t purchased from Lenskart.
In addition to their in-store support, Lenskart brings its service directly to customers’ homes through home eye tests and frame trials, allowing you to get your eyes checked and try on frames with the guidance of certified professionals from the comfort of your living room.
The selection available spans thousands of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, catering to different tastes and needs. Customers can also choose from a variety of lens packages, with features like premium or shatterproof lenses tailored to specific preferences and budgets.
Lenskart ensures eyewear remains in good condition by providing free eye check-ups at their network of stores and offering repair services for glasses bought from them.
Lenskart’s Funding Journey
Since its inception, Lenskart has raised a total of USD 1.08 billion across 19 funding rounds. The funding journey began with its first round on October 4, 2011, and the latest capital infusion came in a Series I round on July 21, 2023, which brought in USD 18.2 million led by Dove Investments.
Over its funding history, Lenskart has attracted investment from well-known names including Unilazer Ventures, TPG, Chiratae Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund (currently the largest institutional investor) and numerous others, including ten angel investors like Ratan N Tata and more.
As of now, Lenskart’s valuation stands at USD 6.1 billion and is backed by a total of 46 institutional investors.
Breaking Down Lenskart’s IPO
Lenskart is actively preparing for a landmark initial public offering (IPO), aiming to raise around USD 1 billion through a combination of primary and secondary offerings. The company is targeting a USD 10 billion valuation for its market debut double its previous mark.
A significant milestone in this journey was achieved in June 2024, when Lenskart secured USD 200 million via a secondary share sale. Key global investors, Temasek and Fidelity, participated in this round, and the deal valued the company at USD 5 billion at that time. Shortly after, Fidelity marked up Lenskart’s valuation to approximately $6.1 billion.
As part of the IPO preparation, Lenskart converted into a public limited company in June 2024 which is a crucial regulatory step preceding the official filing of its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with authorities.
Afterword
When Peyush Bansal left Microsoft in 2007 to start something new, few expected it would become Asia’s biggest eyewear company. Yet here Lenskart stands, having served over 40 million customers and grown revenue by 43% just last year.
What’s impressive isn’t just the numbers though. The company actually fixed the annoying parts of buying glasses. Home trials, free eye tests, thousands of options , no more being stuck in some tiny shop with limited choices.
Now the company is prepping for a $10 billion IPO with backing from SoftBank and Fidelity. Not bad for a business that started when Indians were still wary of online shopping. Sometimes the best businesses just solve problems everyone else ignored.