 "Lenskart eyes tech startups to buy out or acqui-hire and boost core biz")
Omnichannel eyewear unicorn Lenskart, which recently raised $95 million from private equity firm KKR, will be investing in startups to gear up for its next phase of growth. Part of the growth will include acqui-hiring, acquisitions and investments into technology companies, said Ramneek Khurana, cofounder, Lenskart.
“We are looking at acquisitions and aqui-hiring that makes us strengthen our presence in the omnichannel, online and supply chain areas,” added Khurana. The company claims to reach out to 100,000 customers a month.
On the e-commerce side, it is weighing on startups which are providing custom-fit solutions to customers using AI and ML while in the supply chain area, Lenskart is looking for firms that are working in areas of automation and manufacturing that will help them scale up their plant operations further.
The SoftBank-backed company has already announced two acquihires this year -- DailyJoy and HighApe. The acquihiring of DailyJoy has helped Lenskart open its third technology hub in Hyderabad after Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru, while the HighApe team will assist it in building a platform with a new way for selling eyeglasses online. HighApe is a hyperlocal startup which provides access to local parties and events. “It brings a deep understanding of what it takes to sell to the masses in India via technology,” explained Khurana.
Lenskart is also in the process of taking its products to other online stores. “We can currently sell on our platform, but soon we will be able to sell on other websites too,” said Khurana. “On the omnichannel side, we will be looking at technology companies which are working on footfall tracking, demographic analytics and merchandising systems,” he added.
The company is also ramping up its technology team and would be adding around 80 more engineers to its team of 170 by August this year.
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Last year, Lenskart had also invested in Tango Eye, a Chennai-based AI video analytics startup that converts CCTV data into actionable insights.
By August, the company will also expand its operations to Dubai and West Asia. Its international operations are currently limited to Singapore.
With demand for zero power eyeglasses rising as work from home and online schooling continues, the company has seen a 50 per cent increase in online sales since the lockdown last year. To sell eyeglasses online after the lockdown, it had come up with a tool which would tell a user which glasses would fit well on a face. It is an augmented reality backed tool which has hundreds of 3D model glasses and as soon as you give access to your camera, the glasses start fitting on your face on the phone. This feature is being tried by around half a million potential customers every month, according to the company.
The company entered the unicorn club in 2020, after raising $231 million from SoftBank Vision Fund II, Lightbulb as part of its Series G funding in 2020.
THE LENSKART GAME PLAN
- Lenskart to have 250 strong tech team in a couple of months
- Looking at both acquisitions and acquihiring to add talent
- Has announced two acquihires so far -- DailyJoy and HighApe
- Company has also invested in Tango Eye, an AI video analytics startup