Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invests $500 million in Lenskart

Lenskart announced on Wednesday that it has signed a definitive agreement with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to raise $500 million amidst a market slump, as the Indian eyewear retailer expands its offerings and prepares for international markets. This investment is an extension to last year's funding round and enables the startup to maintain its valuation of $4.5 billion. 

ADIA's investment includes a secondary purchase of shares from some of Lenskart's early backers. 

According to Tracxn, a data intelligence platform, Lenskart has raised a total of $1.5 billion in primary and secondary funding rounds to date.

Over the past 12 years, the Indian eyewear startup, which has received backing from SoftBank and Alpha Wave Global, has grown to become one of India's largest eyewear players by offering affordable prices on premium glasses and other eyewear products while undercutting the competition.

Also read: 'Human-level performance': ChatGPT creator OpenAI releases smarter, faster GPT-4 AI

At a time when the Indian eyewear retailer is expanding its offerings and venturing into global markets, ADIA has made an investment that involves acquiring some shares from early supporters of Lenskart through secondary purchases, despite the market downturn.

Also read: Elon Musk's next move? Building his own city and becoming a landlord to Tesla and SpaceX employees