SoftBank-backed Lenskart raises $220 million as India's tech industry booms

Lenskart sold about 8 million pairs of eyewear last year and is aiming to grow that by 30 per cent in the year ending March 2022

India’s Lenskart, an online retailer for eyewear, raised $220 million from investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and Falcon Edge Capital, in another sign of booming interest in the country’s technology startups.

Founded by Peyush Bansal in 2010, the company sells eyeglasses, contact lenses and sunglasses online and through about 750 retail outlets in the country. It plans to use the capital, along with $95 million raised earlier this year from KKR & Co., to expand online sales and add brick-and-mortar stores in India, as well as in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

“Every vertical from apparel to footwear, aside