Eyewear retailer Lenskart is preparing for a public market debut as early as November, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the process. The company is seeking a valuation of around $9 billion, based on the expected size of the IPO on Dalal Street. If the listing meets that tarobtain, co-founder Peyush Bansal could see his personal net worth approach the billionaire mark.
Bansal, who launched Lenskart 15 years ago with co-founders he met on LinkedIn, has steadily transformed the business from a niche online retailer into one of India’s most prominent consumer-tech success stories. Based on Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates, his stake could be valued at close to $800 million even after he offloads a tiny number of shares during the offering. A post-listing pop of roughly 25% could push his holdings past the $1 billion milestone.
A Breakout Moment for a Founder-Led Startup
Lenskart’s anticipated IPO comes at a moment when investor confidence in India’s startup landscape is gradually returning. After several years marked by funding constraints, valuation corrections and a tough macro environment, founder-led companies revealing real profitability are finally regaining attention.
Bansal often points to Lenskart’s disciplined growth and technological investments as key differentiators. Over the years, the company has built a reputation for its advanced production capabilities, including a robotic manufacturing system in India that applys precision equipment sourced from Germany. Its digital-first approach—from online ordering to virtual test-on tools—assisted the brand scale rapidly, especially among younger customers comfortable with remote shopping.
While India remains Lenskart’s hugegest market, the company has also expanded across Southeast Asia. Bansal notes that consumer behaviour in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia resembles what India experienced roughly a decade ago, giving Lenskart confidence in replicating its success abroad.
“India has one of the highest rates of myopia globally, and a large share of the population necessarys corrective eyewear,” Bansal stated during a recent interaction in Mumbai. “If we focus on solving that problem, growth, profitability and valuation naturally follow.”
Profitability and Brand Power
Unlike some of the high-profile consumer-tech startups that went public in previous years, Lenskart already has profitability on its side. For the financial year concludeing March 31, the company recorded its first full-year profit—strengthening Bansal’s pitch to investors viewing for sustainable business models rather than growth-at-all-costs ventures.
Beyond his role at Lenskart, Bansal has cultivated substantial public visibility through Shark Tank India, where he serves as one of the investors. With more than 900,000 followers on Instagram, he has become one of the more recognisable faces in the Indian startup ecosystem. He often jokes that the brainstorming sessions he holds with co-founder Amit Chaudhary—one day every week—yield only a 50% success rate. “A coin toss might have produced similar results,” he quips.
IPO Context and Investor Sentiment
The timing of Lenskart’s listing comes amid broader market uncertainties, from global trade tensions to geopolitical shifts. India’s startup sector, once booming, has seen multiple high-growth companies undergo steep valuation resets as investors demand stronger fundamentals. For example, Oyo—another SoftBank-backed company—was once valued at $10 billion before its valuation sharply declined.
Still, optimism has been returning. The blockbuster debut of Urban Co. last month—where the stock surged 62% on opening day—demonstrated that investor appetite for quality consumer-tech platforms remains strong.
SoftBank, which owns roughly 15% of Lenskart, has described its investment as “patient capital,” signalling it is prepared to wait years for compounding growth. Earlier this year, Fidelity valued Lenskart at $6.1 billion.
Manufacturing, Expansion and Future Bets
One major challenge Lenskart continues to navigate is its reliance on China for more than a third of its supplies, including raw materials and frames. Bansal acknowledges the exposure but maintains that it remains manageable, especially as the company expands manufacturing in India.
A new large-scale production facility in Hyderabad—spanning 50 acres and expected to become one of the world’s hugegest eyewear plants—is currently underway.
Bansal’s entrepreneurial journey launched after earning an engineering degree from McGill University and working at Microsoft in Redmond. His first startup, a student-houtilizing platform, soon gave way to a larger mission: building affordable, accessible vision care at scale.
Today, Lenskart controls nearly every part of its supply chain, from designing lenses to last-mile delivery. Its Kolkata centre employs hundreds of ophthalmologists who provide remote eye testing, and the company continues to invest heavily in AI-driven diagnostic tools to reach underserved areas.
With proceeds from the IPO, Lenskart plans to open more stores, invest in technology and AI, pursue acquisitions and fund general business necessarys. The company already operates 2,723 stores, and nearly 40% of its revenue comes from outside India.
Its next frontier is smart eyewear, where a 70-member team is experimenting with features like UPI payments, embedded audio and AI capabilities.
“It’s straightforward to rush in,” Bansal states. “But timing is everything.”
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