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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Visioning expansion: IPO-bound Lenskart sets sights on AI glasses
Eyewear unicorn Lenskart has invested in Mumbai-based Ajna Lens, a deep-tech startup specialising in extended reality (XR) and AI-powered wearable tech. The deal, the value of which remains undisclosed, marks Lenskart's first serious bet on AI-enabled smart glasses, and comes as it gears up for a $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) at reportedly $10 billion valuation. Ajna's tech is likely to power the next generation of smart eyewear for Lenskart, which already offers 'Phonic Smart Glasses' — Bluetooth-enabled glasses that allow users to take calls, play music and interact with voice assistants. But this new move takes the company deeper into wearables with AI and spatial computing at the core. Founded in 2014 and based in Thane, Ajna Lens won a CES Innovation Award in 2023 for its mixed reality headset, AjnaXR. Globally, smart glasses shipments have more than trebled since 2022, crossing 2 million units in 2024, industry estimates show. In India, the AR and VR eyewear market touched $608 million in 2024, and is projected to hit $1.67 billion by 2033, thanks to demand in gaming, health care, and education, according to IMARC Group, which is involved in market research. But the race is intensifying: The global smart glasses market, which is currently valued at over $6 billion, is expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 per cent. Meta dominates the space with its Ray-Ban Meta line, holding over 60 per cent of the global market in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple and Google are also in the fray. Furthermore, Xiaomi, Samsung, Baidu, ByteDance are expected to roll out products over 2025–26. Against this backdrop, Lenskart is looking to stand out by bringing together Ajna's XR stack with its own expertise in optical engineering to create 'glasses-first' wearables, prioritising vision correction and comfort alongside digital features. The Ajna investment is part of Lenskart's broader playbook to gain tech advantage and scale. It previously acquired Japanese eyewear brand Owndays in 2022 through a $400 million deal. In 2023, Neso Brands, a Lenskart subsidiary, bought a stake in Paris-based Le Petit Lunetier for $4 million. The unicorn also took over Tango Eye, an AI-vision startup, for an unknown amount. Now, the focus is on the company's IPO. US financial services major Fidelity recently increased its estimated valuation of Lenskart to $6.1 billion, according to its latest monthly portfolio disclosure, up from $5.6 billion in November last year. Lenskart recently converted into a public limited company amid its preparation for the IPO. Lenskart's operating revenue jumped 43 per cent to ₹5,428 crore in FY24 from ₹3,788 crore the previous year, while losses shrank sharply, down 84 per cent to ₹10 crore from ₹63 crore. The company runs over 2,500 stores, including 2,000 in India. It's scaling internationally too, with footprints in Southeast Asia and West Asia, powered by a 'click-and-mortar' strategy combining online, app-based, and offline experiences. The company is also setting up its largest manufacturing facility yet in Telangana, investing ₹1,500 crore under a pact with the state government to establish the unit at Fab City. Lenskart competes with players such as Titan Eyeplus, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Warby Parker, and Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Good Glamm restructuring talks underway, CEO says in note apologising for salary delays
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Troubled beauty products retailer The Good Glamm Group is engaged in several restructuring discussions with its lenders as it faces severe financial stress, cofounder and chief executive Darpan Sanghvi said in a recent social media ET reported in June , the company had not paid salaries for two months in a row due to cash crunch and struggles with raising with salary delays, full and final settlements for former employees have also not been cleared, leaving both current and ex-staff under significant financial the post, Sanghvi recounted that the company was on the verge of selling one of its brands at the end of its funding cycle, that would have secured enough funds for future. "Everything was done, but just before we could sign and secure Good Glamm, the CEO of the acquiring company stepped down at the last moment, and the deal fell through. It was a gut punch out of nowhere that sent us scrambling for funding and securing a lifeline."Since then, Good Glamm has been facing a chain reaction of financial hardships, starting with salary delays and operational payment disruptions that directly impacted business and made generating cash flows hard, and raising money even harder, Sanghvi wrote. He assured employees and investors that he would set things Glamm has been selling or exploring the sale of several portfolio brands in a bid to maintain liquidity and keep operations running during this turbulent period. The Mumbai-based company is evaluating the sale of its stake in personal care brand Organic Harvest back to the brand's uncertainty has also triggered a wave of employee exits. The latest high-profile departure came when Kartik Rao, the group's former chief people officer and a board member at WYN Beauty (a joint venture with Serena Williams), left to join AI-driven recruitment platform Vahan. part of its cost-cutting measures, the company shut down its Vasant Kunj office in New Delhi earlier this year. Operations temporarily moved to a location in Greater Kailash, but employees are now working remotely, one staffer April 11, ET reported that the company is in advanced talks to sell its media and influencer talent management arm, MissMalini Entertainment, to marketing agency February, Good Glamm sold feminine hygiene brand Sirona back to its original founders for around Rs 150 crore—well below the Rs 450 crore it had paid to acquire the brand. It also offloaded digital media subsidiary ScoopWhoop to Bengaluru-based meme marketing agency WLDD at a valuation of Rs 18–20 crore, a fraction of the Rs 100 crore it paid in company has also explored selling stakes in other assets, including personal care brand The Moms Co and content platform January 29, representatives from investment firms Accel, Prosus Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners resigned from the company's board In March 2024, Good Glamm raised $30 million in a flat round from existing investors, including Warburg Pincus, Prosus Ventures, Bessemer, and Accel. The funding was intended to support working capital needs and bridge a larger round that is yet to Glamm was formed in 2021 through the merger of Darpan Sanghvi's MyGlamm, Priyanka Gill's POPxo, and Naiyya Saggi's the past year, the company has witnessed a string of high-profile exits. In May 2024, Sukhleen Aneja, the chief executive of The Good Brands (Good Glamm's D2C vertical), left to join beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa. Gill became a venture partner at Kalaari Capital before launching her own lab-grown diamond brand, Coluxe, while Saggi is starting a new consumer electronics venture.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
AIonOS picks up majority stake in Cloud Analogy
AI firm AIonOS on Friday said it has acquired a majority stake in Noida-headquartered Cloud Analogy to deliver intelligent, personalised, and scalable digital transformation company did not disclose the financial details of the deal."This investment is not just about expanding capabilities -- it's about shaping the future of enterprise technology. With Cloud Analogy's delivery excellence and our AI-led customer experience platform, AIonOS is uniquely positioned to lead AI-first CX transformation. We're building intelligent systems that drive outcomes, not just processes," AIonOS Co-founder and Vice Chairman C P Gurnani combined entity will work to develop tailored industry solutions for the BFSI , automobile, healthcare, education, retail, and real estate sectors, the company said in a statement.
