Lenskart's Rs 8,000 crore IPO; Layoff clouds over IT

Time of India

4 days ago

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Lenskart's Rs 8,000 crore IPO; Layoff clouds over IT
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Also in the letter:
Lenskart files for Rs 8,000 crore IPO; founder Peyush Bansal boosts stake
IPO snapshot:
Fresh issue: Rs 2,150 crore.
Rs 2,150 crore. Offer for sale: 132.2 million shares from existing investors, including SoftBank, Temasek, Kedaara Capital and Alpha Wave Global.
132.2 million shares from existing investors, including SoftBank, Temasek, Kedaara Capital and Alpha Wave Global. Cofounders Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi are together selling 31.8 million shares.
Founder move:
Founder move:
He will also offload 20.5 million shares in the IPO, potentially netting Rs 700–750 crore.
Founder stake top-ups ahead of IPOs have become a familiar trend in India's startup ecosystem, from Zomato to Swiggy and Freshworks.
By the numbers:
FY25 revenue: Rs 6,625 crore, up 22% year-on-year
Net profit: Rs 297 crore vs. Rs 10 crore loss in FY24
International revenue: Rs 2,638 crore, over 40% of total
Store footprint: 2,700+ globally
Between the lines:
Its omnichannel model now spans Asia and the Middle East, with the 2022 acquisition of Japan's OwnDays powering its international surge. FY25 was the first year the deal's full impact reflected in the books.
The company is also expanding in Europe, with its Singapore arm set to acquire 80% of Spanish brand Meller for Rs 407 crore, a move aimed at Gen Z consumers.
What to watch:
Also Read:
Nasscom flags deeper churn in IT; upskilling won't prevent more layoffs
The context:
Artificial intelligence is not the only culprit, but it is speeding the shake-up.
Clients now demand agility and value, not bloated benches or traditional waterfall teams.
Over 1.5 million professionals have been trained in AI and GenAI as of Q4 FY25.
Around 95,000 employees in large IT firms now hold certifications in applied AI, embedded intelligence, and AI-native cloud.
What's next:
Also Read:
TCS layoffs trigger flood of resumes; hiring remains sluggish
Who's on the move:
Veterans with 15–20 years in digital transformation, Salesforce, Java, AI/ML and cloud.
Candidates eyeing global capability centres, IT product firms and tech startups.
Compensation bands running from Rs 60 lakh to over Rs 1 crore, recruiters said.
But the market's not ready:
BluSmart heads into insolvency after creditor default
Driving the news:
The backstory:
BluSmart had raised Rs 15 crore in 2023 via non-convertible debentures (NCDs), but missed repayments due in March and April this year.
Catalyst, which sold the bonds to retail investors, approached NCLT after repeated payment notices went unanswered.
Also Read:
What's next:
Why it matters:
NBFC Elcid picks up tiny stake in Zepto amid fundraising
What it signals:
Why it matters:
Zepto wants to boost Indian ownership ahead of its IPO plans.
Cofounders Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra and the employee stock ownership (Esop) pool together hold about 28%, sources told us.
The company is targeting an additional 8-10% local shareholding before filing.
Also Read:
For India's AI startups, it's pivot or perish
The speed paradox:
Startups are burning out faster than ever.
Unlike older tech cycles, there's little room to iterate toward product-market fit slowly.
Execution is the edge:
Tell me more:
Lenskart has filed its draft papers for an Rs 8,000 crore public offering. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ BluSmart bankruptcy■ Zepto's equity fundraise■ AI startups' dilemmaEyewear retailer Lenskart has kicked off one of the year's most anticipated new-age listings, filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to Rs 8,000 crore.Peyush Bansal recently bought a 2.5% stake in the company for Rs 222 crore from early investors at a $1 billion valuation, even as Lenskart now eyes a listing at Rs 70,000–75,000 ($8–9 billion) valuation.Lenskart is pitching as more than just a homegrown retail play.All eyes will now be on how public markets price a profitable, global-facing Indian startup betting on vision, both literally and financially.India's IT sector is bracing for a fresh wave of job cuts. Nasscom, the industry's apex body, warns that the shift towards product-led delivery, cloud-native models, and automation is triggering a structural overhaul in how services are built and who builds them.TCS has already fired the starting gun, announcing plans to shed 12,000 mid- and senior-level roles in FY26, roughly 2% of its workforce.Upskilling may soften the blow, but it won't stop it. Nasscom says:Yet legacy roles are still on the chopping block as firms relocate talent and trim middle management. The message is blunt: workforce strategy will follow business needs, not HR cushioning.TCS's cuts have unleashed a flood of resumés. Recruiters at CIEL HR, Transearch, and Michael Page say inboxes are overflowing as mid- and senior-level staff make a dash for the exits . Some executives started networking before the news broke, sensing the axe was coming.The market is tight, and senior roles are scarce. New-age skills are in demand, but lateral positions at similar pay grades are few and far between. Recruitment experts report a 25% spike in TCS-linked profiles, and the full ripple effect is yet to hit.BluSmart Mobility, once pitched as India's homegrown answer to Uber, has slipped into insolvency after defaulting on payments to bondholders.The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted a petition by Catalyst Trusteeship, which said the EV ride-hailing startup failed to repay Rs 1.28 crore.NPV Insolvency Professionals will now manage BluSmart's assets as the interim resolution professional. The company had already suspended operations, while its electric fleet, owned by promoter Gensol Engineering, had been leased in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.BluSmart's collapse highlights the perils of debt-fuelled, capex-heavy mobility ventures. With Gensol also facing insolvency, retail bondholders and fintech platforms that pushed these bonds are staring at potential losses.Aadit Palicha, CEO, ZeptoMumbai-based non-banking financial company Elcid Investments has bought Rs 7.5 crore worth of shares in Zepto, the 10-minute delivery unicorn, according to a stock exchange filing. The purchase values Zepto at $5 billion, matching its November 2024 round The stake is minuscule at 0.039%, but the timing matters. Zepto is in the final stages of a larger $500 million fundraise combining primary and secondary deals led by General Catalyst and Avenir Growth.To get there, Zepto is lining up a $250 million secondary share sale through Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and its founders are negotiating Rs 1,500 crore in structured debt to provide Indian investors with a larger share, as we reported on April 28.India's AI startup scene is facing a brutal shakeout . In recent weeks, at least four ventures—YC-backed Wuri and CodeParrot, along with Subtl.ai and Locale.ai—have shut down. Their exits highlight the harsh reality for founders: raising capital, scaling fast, and staying relevant in a market moving at breakneck speed.The pace of AI innovation is unforgiving. Investors call it a 'speed paradox':'Founders now realise it's better to shut down and restart rather than bleed cash,' said a Bengaluru-based investor. Tune AI cofounder Naman Maheshwari put it simply: 'AI makes it easy to build but hard to win.''Speed is the moat,' said Blume Ventures' Sanjay Nath, warning that slower, polished products often lose to faster-moving, nimble rivals.Google India's Preeti Lobana adds that true winners will solve big problems – in healthcare, climate and sustainability – not just wrap AI around someone else's model. To quote another investor, 'If your idea doesn't stand without AI, it won't last with it either.'