Eyewear startup Lenskart has raised $500 million from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), in one of the largest funding rounds in recent memory, at an existing valuation of $4.5 billion.

The investment will be made by purchasing primary and secondary shares, making ADIA one of Lenskart’s largest shareholders. The deal’s completion is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals, Lenskart said in a statement on March 16. Lenskart has raised nearly $750 million in funding since 2022, the eyewear company said.

Lenskart will use the funding to deepen its penetration in India and expand its international presence in Asia and the Middle East, the company said. Lenskart claims to have more than 2,000 stores, 1,500 in India and the rest in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Lenskart said its new factory, which will produce 20 million pairs of glasses the company plans to ship next year, will also be ready to launch soon. The startup, led by Peyush Bansal, claimed a 60% increase in revenue for the second year in a row and is now profitable.

However, in FY22 (2021-22), Lenskart slipped into the red even after its revenue rose 66%. Lenskart reported a loss of Rs 102 crore for the year, compared to a profit of Rs 280 crore the previous year.

“It is still Day-1 at Lenskart. Vision correction remains a big issue, and myopia continues to increase, reaching as high as 80-90% in parts of Asia. So, we are still in the early stages of our journey, and there is still a lot of work to continue to make the impact we anticipate in this area of ​​great need. With its patient and long-term approach to investing, ADIA is the perfect partner for the next stage of our journey,” Bansal said in a statement.

Lenskart was founded in 2008 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Neha Bansal and Sumeet Kapahi. In 2019, the brand joined the coveted unicorn club. Its backers include SoftBank, Alpha Wave Global, Temasek, KKR and TPG. The company has raised over $1.5 billion in funding over 19 rounds, according to data available on Tracxn.

Last June, the brand acquired a majority stake in Japanese direct-to-consumer (D2C) eyewear brand Owndays, one of the largest omnichannel operators of its kind in Asia.