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Top industrialist Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in home rental company <keyword id="2766908" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestaway">NestAway</keyword> Technologies, a statement said. 
 This is Tata's eighth personal investment in a startup in 2016 so far. He has invested in over 20 <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword>. 
 NestAway turns unbranded, unfurnished houses into fully furnished and managed apartments and provides them at affordable prices to verified tenants, said the statement by <keyword id="145352" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IDG-Ventures-India">IDG Ventures India</keyword>, which is an investor in the company. 
 
So far, the startup has provided quality rental homes to about 5,000 tenants across six cities. 
 
Until recently, NestAway counted working professionals who are single among its target audience, but now it has also forayed into the family segment. 
 NestAway was founded by <keyword id="1938993" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amarendra-Sahu">Amarendra Sahu</keyword>, <keyword id="3263923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Smruti-Parida">Smruti Parida</keyword>, <keyword id="190138" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepak-Dhar">Deepak Dhar</keyword> and Jitendra Jagadev in January 2015. 
 The company has raised over USD 13 million in capital in two rounds from marquee investors, including IDG Ventures India, <keyword id="526777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and entrepreneur Naveen Tewari.

Ratan Tata invests in home rental startup NestAway

<ul><li><keyword id="3465872" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="curefit">Curefit</keyword> has raised $75 million in the first tranche of series D round of <keyword id="6357455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>. </li><li>Its range of investors now include <keyword id="192487" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anand-Piramal">Anand Piramal</keyword> Trust, Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures among others. </li><li>This takes the startup’s reported valuation to $500 million. </li></ul>Health and fitness startup Curefit has raised $75 million in a series D round. According to the filing sourced by Paper.vc, the investment was raised from Accel Partners, Anand Piramal, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures India and Pratithi Investment Trust. While the investment is a first tranche of a series D round, Curefit’s <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/curefit-raises-75-million-valuation-crosses-500-million-1557206291458.html">reported</a> valuation with the recent fundraise goes up to $500 million. Curefit has not released an official statement regarding the fundraise. Curefit, founded in 2016 by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart Chief Business Officer Ankit Nagori, has gained popularity in India through its fitness centres - <keyword id="6825388" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cultfit">Cultfit</keyword>, health app - Curefit, diagnostic centres - Carefit and yoga and meditation centres - mindfit. The duo’s success with their previous businesses seems to have rubbed off on their current venture too. In just three years, the startup has registered 4 lakh users for curefit, with 160 centres across Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad – all adding up to an annual revenue of $100 million. Curefit had last raised funding of $120 million in July 2018. Earlier, it had also raised funding from Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, who had been signed as the brand ambassador for the fitness startup in 2017. Roshan had <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/hrithik-roshan-pours-in-878-2k-in-fitness-startup-cure-fit/">reportedly </a>invested $14.63 million in the startup. Since its inception, Curefit has acquired 5 <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> in the <keyword id="245935" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Health-and-Wellness">health and wellness</keyword> space, and has been fast growing its business. The Bengaluru-based startup has also been <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/cure-fit-plans-to-enter-dubai-as-local-business-achieves-critical-mass/67579215">looking</a> at opportunities to go global with Dubai and Southeast Asian countries. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/healthifyme-indias-top-rated-healthapp-on-playstore-is-set-to-turn-profitable-this-year/articleshow/68900244.cms">This startup helping 9 million Indians lose weight may soon turn profitable</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/world-health-day-india-needs-laws-to-protect-online-medical-data/articleshow/68771225.cms">India has millions of medical records online but no law to keep the data safe</a>

Three-year old Curefit clocks in $100 mn in revenue and over $245 mn in total funding

Eyeware retailer <keyword id="1518229" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lenskart">Lenskart</keyword> has raised Rs 135 crore in fresh capital in its third round of funding. The company has in its Series C (final rounding of early funding cycle) raised the funds as co-investment from <keyword id="141646" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TPG-Growth">TPG Growth</keyword> along with Hong Kong-based TR Capital and its existing investor IDF Ventures. 
	 Interestingly, the company has raised a total of Rs 200 crore in three rounds of funding that has happened so far. In February 2013, the company had received an investment of Rs 53 crore from <keyword id="25725" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ronnie-Screwvala">Ronnie Screwvala</keyword>’s Unilazer Ventures along with IDG Ventures India. 
	 
	“In TPG, we found strategic partners and advisors with proven capability to build a large consumer-centric enterprise. The TPG brand is another feather in our cap. With this new investment, we will be hiring the best talent and give them a world-class environment to innovate and solve India’s eyewear problems at a very large scale,” said Peyush Bansal, CEO &amp; Founder of Lenskart. 
	 
	Commenting on the same, Manas Tandon, Director, TPG Growth said, “TPG globally is an active investor in the Internet sector. We are excited about the evolution of Internet in India and are delighted to partner with Lenskart as our first investment in this space. The Lenskart team brings to the table an impressive focus on customer service and keen commercial instincts, thereby building a dominant position in the eyewear space, while maintaining attractive unit economics.” 
	 Currently, the company clocked in revenues of nearly Rs 100 crore and has been growing at 15% every month. Lenskart was founded in 2010 by <keyword id="2674246" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Peeyush-Bansal">Peeyush Bansal</keyword> along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi. The company claims to have grown by over 200% year on year.

Lenskart
Raises Rs 135 Crore As Fresh Capital

<keyword id="705865" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mukesh-Bansal">Mukesh Bansal</keyword>, the co-founder of Myntra, has bagged a funding for his new start-up called <keyword id="3465872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="curefit">CureFit</keyword>. The investment has come from a group of marquee investors, who had also backed his maiden venture. 
 
The investors include Accel Partners, IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital, who all participated in the $15-million round, which also had an investment of $3 million by Mukesh Bansal himself. 
 
As per the deal, the health and wellness start-up has been valued at about $50 million. 
 CureFit was founded by Bansal, after he quit Flipkart in March last year, in partnership with former colleague <keyword id="2350508" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ankit-Nagori">Ankit Nagori</keyword>, and will open for business early next year. 
 
"We aim to build an innovative product, which will help consumers manage their health proactively with the use of technology and data," Bansal told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/mukesh-bansals-new-startup-curefit-bags-15-million-funding/articleshow/53053515.cms">ET</a>. 
 
Bansal will be leading the product and technology development functions at the start-up, while Nagori will be in charge of business development and operations. 
 
CureFit will offer products and solutions for preventive and curative healthcare to its users, combining engagement, coaching and delivery through a variety of both online and offline channels. 
 
The start-up currently employs about ten people and expects to hire about 35-40 more people in the coming six months. 
 
<a href="http://d152j5tfobgaot.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/kstart-eventpics-04.png">Image source</a>

CureFit, Mukesh Bansal's new start-up, gets funding worth $15 million

Online fashion rental portal <keyword id="3186401" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flyrobe">Flyrobe</keyword>, which is backed by Snapdeal and Freecharge founders, has raised Rs 35 crore in a fresh round of funding led by <keyword id="145350" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IDG-Ventures">IDG Ventures</keyword>. The round also saw participation from Tokyo-based GREE Ventures, its existing investor Sequoia India, Paytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and Stanhope Capital chairman Leon Seynave. 
 
Flyrobe has now raised $7 million in investments. 
 
The start-up is based in Mumbai and also has operations in Delhi; it will use the investment to expand its business to five more cities including Hyderabad and Bangalore, while also strengthening its technology, product and business teams. 
 "We want to build the country's largest virtual wardrobe which women can rely whenever they have an occasion," <keyword id="3596378" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shreya-Mishra">Shreya Mishra</keyword>, CEO and cofounder at Flyrobe, told ET. 
 
Flyrobe offers premium designer wear and branded outfits and accessories on rent at 10-15% of the retail price. 
 
"It acts as an experiential marketing platform for designers and it's a great way for customers to experiment with new brands and styles without having to worry about the price tags," said Mishra. 
 
By the end of this financial year, the company aims to grow 4 to 5 times, and triple its designer roster to 150. 
 
<a href="https://e27.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Flyrobe-co-founders-L-to-R-Pranay-Surana-COO-Shreya-Mishra-CEO-Tushar-Saxena-CTO-Final.jpg">Image source</a>

Snapdeal-backed fashion start-up Flyrobe gets funding from IDG Ventures and Vijay Shekhar Sharma

<keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>, Chairman Emeritus of <keyword id="46894" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tata-Sons">Tata Sons</keyword>, has recently invested an undisclosed amount in <keyword id="2779670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tracxn">Tracxn</keyword>, the Bengaluru-based startup intelligence platform. 
 
With this development,Tracxn has joined the list of almost two dozen startups and tech companies that Tata has backed in the past two years, including Snapdeal, Ola Cabs, Paytm, Urbanladder, Xiaomi, UrbanClap and DogSpot. 
 
He is also involved with venture capital firms like Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures India and Jungle Ventures in the capacity of an advisor. 
Talking of Tracxn, it has raised angel funding from Flipkart's co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, Delhivery's CEO Sahil Barua and $3.5 million in series-A funding from SAIF Partners. 
 
The company was founded in 2013 by former venture capital investors Neha Singh (ex-Sequoia Capital) and Abhishek Goyal (ex-Accel Partners), and tracks over 100 sectors including enterprise infrastructure, enterprise applications, technology, consumer, mobile, digital marketing, health, education. 
 <keyword id="2928014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tracxn-Labs">Tracxn Labs</keyword>, an angel invest fund, and <keyword id="3401467" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tracxn-Syndicate">Tracxn Syndicate</keyword>, an angel investment group are also run by Tracxn, putting it in competition with Let's Venture, which is another fundraising platform that has been backed by Tata. 
 
In its clientele, Tracxn boasts of venture capital funds, private equity firms and corporate development teams who use the services provided by the company it to spot investment, merger and strategic partnership opportunities in different sectors. Some of these names include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, SoftBank, Google Capital, VMWare, GE and LG. 
 
In the past one year, Tracxn has increased its number of analysts assigned to exclusively tracking startups from 25 to 125. The client base has also seen a 400% increase to over 300 customers across 20 countries in the past 12 months. 
 
"Ratan Tata is a trusted household name &amp; his way of building things has played a critical role in how our thoughts shaped up in early days of our lives," Goyal told ET. "As we rapidly expand across geographies, his unconventional ways of building large companies with high diversity will be very useful," he continued. 
 
<a href="http://www.in.techradar.com/photo/47922351.cms">Image source</a>

Ratan Tata just invested in this startup intelligence platform!

For startups to grow they must garner funds from investors; and to gather funds, startups need to have a robust product-market fit along with a promising team and a solid business plan with the potential to scale. Then comes the role of angel investors and <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">Venture Capital</keyword> (VC) <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> that usually surfaces when larger amounts are required to grow a business. 
 Lately, major <keyword id="982553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword> have seen a tremendous boost from venture capitalists. To start with, we saw how Tiger Global Management, Softbank Corp., Morgan Stanley, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, IDG Ventures India and SAIF Partners managed to support promising Indian startups like that of Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Zomato, ShopClues, Urban Ladder and many others. Moreover, it is not only the bigger firms who are eyeing VC funds, relatively younger and smaller firms like OYO Rooms, Swiggy and Grofers have also joined the race. 
 Apart from ruling the e-commerce and fashion industry, <keyword id="153868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="VC-funding">VC funding</keyword> is now gradually moving into other sectors too, such as agriculture, healthcare and education. As per the data from the upcoming Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), which is all set to launch the Wharton India Startup Competition (WISC) with over 500 entries, though majority of applicants (around 25%) belong to the e-commerce industry, the healthcare segment is not far away with around 22% applicants. Moreover, most of the participating startups already have pre-seeded and seeded funding arrangements and around 31% of them have listed themselves as social enterprises. 
 
The ecosystem for VC funding for Indian startups would be discussed at length at the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF). WIEF is a two-day event starting from January 6, 2017, which will bring together the best entrepreneurs, investors, distinguished Wharton faculty, students and inspirational speakers. Attendees will not only have numerous opportunities for interaction and networking across the board but will also witness in-depth discussions in terms of understanding the evolving business landscape in India and the need for business model innovation from the government, various industry leaders, and distinguished Wharton faculty. 
 
The relevance of this summit doesn’t end there. It is also known for hosting the Wharton India Startup Competition (WISC) which is giving Indian startups the opportunity to present themselves in front of an esteemed panel of judges and also win cash prizes of over $25,000 and unparalleled mentorship of up to 4 months from some of the most renowned names in the industry on strategy and funding. The jury for WISC comprises top-notch personalities with the likes of Bharati Jacob (Co-founder of Seedfund), Nipun Mehra (Investor at Sequoia Capital India), Rehan Yar Khan (Managing Partner of Orios Venture Partners), Tarun Davda (Managing Director of Matrix Partners), Aditya Nair (Investor at Nyca Partners), Ajay Hattangdi (CEO India &amp; Group COO of InnoVen Capital Group), Ankit Shah (Vice President at Unilazer Ventures), Sameer Verma (Director &amp; Junior Partner of Nexus Venture Partners), Saurabh Joshi (Strategy Manager at PayPal) and Shantanu Gangal (Head – Analytics at Fundbox). Also, past finalists of this prestigious event includes names such as Ketto, Haptik, Zoomcar, Zostel, Targeting Mantra, Qlicket, Samaan and Ambitioni. 
 
Needless to say, such competitions and summits go a long way in not only promoting upcoming startups but also in educating the audience and the participants regarding the funding scenario. Not many seem to be aware about the types and rounds of funding, the know-how of VC funding and even the right way to go about securing such funds, hence this is surely going to be one the most-sought after events at the start of the next year. 
 
(Image Credits: Thinkstock) 
 
(About the Author: This article has been authored by Aman Jain, Chairperson WIEF 2017)

How VC Funding Fuels the Indian Startup Ecosystem

<ul><li>Tushar Vashisht, co-founder and CEO of <keyword id="2698623" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="HealthifyMe">Healthifyme</keyword>, spoke to Business Insider about the startup’s fast growing business. </li><li>Vashisht said that their India business is likely to turn profitable this year. </li><li>The app has roughly 9 million users from over 220 cities in India, has expanded to Malaysia and Singapore and is even contemplating a China entry.</li></ul>India has the third highest obesity rate in the world and this startup has taken it upon itself to help Indians lose weight. Healthifyme, which is the top rated Indian startup on Google Playstore, is also set to see its India business turn profitable this year. When Tushar Vashisht, co-founder and CEO, Healthifyme, came back to India nine years ago, he was one of the first ten members who were on the Aadhar team and went on to work in Project Strategy, working on the early adoption of Aadhar. Hit by the entrepreneurial bug, Vashisht, who had gained a lot of weight post his India return, knew that obesity in India was a problem he had to solve. In 2012, he launched Healthifyme for he had learnt that the biggest thing people needed was motivation. “We offered nutritionists and trainers to people as services, giving our users guidance and helping them stay motivated. What started as a small idea is a large business now. One and a half years ago, we launched Ria - our Artificial Intelligence assistant, which caters to 54% of the messages we get daily,” Vashisht told Business Insider. While a smart plan (with their AI assistant Ria) starts at ₹299, packages with a nutritionist start at ₹999. Today, they have roughly nine million users from 220+ cities and revenue-wise too they are growing strongly. “Our India business is likely to go profitable sometime this year,” said Vashisht. Even when they launched the app, their growth was very organic. “People loved the app, as they recognised its value – it helps them achieve their <keyword id="18974" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="fitness">fitness</keyword> goals. We very quickly became the highest rated app in India and also were the Editor’s Choice app on Google Playstore,” he said. What stuck with India users was the very fact that their app was very Indian in nature – focusing on nutrition needs in India. “We were obsessed about the product and consumers. We just focused on how can we create the best app out of India. The app that you see today is the 7th version of Healthifyme,” he said. It has also launched an AI assistant – Ria. But could fitness, which becomes a very personalised programme, be handled by an AI bot? “Humans can’t scale so much. At the end of the day, there is a limit to how many clients we can handle. Ria is born and built out of human data. Ria handles the basic work – answers the basic questions and issues, which then allows humans to take over the in-depth queries,” he said. Cumulatively, the app sees consumers track one billion exercises a day and also send in 50 million messages per day. Their success in India has also pushed it to go international. They have already launched in Malaysia and Singapore and have hired local nutritionists and trainers in the countries to ensure the app becomes a local one. “We are already the number one app in Malaysia and have lakhs of users in Singapore,” said Vashisht. As they expand their business, they are looking into newer territories like Indonesia and are also contemplating a China entry. Healthifyme has raised $25 million in funding so far from investors like IDG Ventures India, Blume Ventures and Inventus Capital. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/world-health-day-india-needs-laws-to-protect-online-medical-data/articleshow/68771225.cms">India has millions of medical records online but no law to keep the data safe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-government-commits-to-increasing-public-health-spending-to-2-5-of-gdp-by-2025but-is-that-enough/articleshow/67086285.cms">Indian government commits to increasing public health spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025—but is that enough?</a>

This startup helping 9 million Indians lose weight may soon turn profitable

A recent study found that only less than 3% of comments on venture capital blogs focusing on US financial and startup space are by women. While it is commonly understood that the proportion of women in the tech sector is low, this study showed that the engagement of women with the VC industry is even lower. Another recent study found that only about 15% of US companies receiving venture-capital investment included at least one woman in the executive team. If this is the case in a mature startup ecosystem like the US, one can imagine how inadequate the representation of women in a nascent startup ecosystem like the one in India, which is slowly catching up with the emerged markets in terms of cash flow to <keyword id="2783479" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="VC-funded-enterprises">VC-funded enterprises</keyword>. 
 
Of the top VC firms operating in India, Accel Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partner, Blume Ventures, Helion venture Partners, IDG VC India, Inventus Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners and Sequoia Capital India have no women partners or managing directors while Kalaari Capital and Seedfund have just one each. 
 
Among reasons for the limited representation of women at the top strata of VC firms—and thus the nature of decisions that are made or not made in the country’s startup ecosystem, which will lead to wealth creation and drive growth in the long run—is the fact that the ‘men club’ that leads most VC firms tends to opt for people like them when it comes to recruiting talent. 
 
Secondly, since VC industry in India is at a nascent stage and is not well understood, women perceive VC jobs as something that belong to the area of hardcore finance and number crunching rather than a business model evaluation, and hence tend to stay away from it. 
 
Another reason is the lack of awareness at business school level, which results in very few women taking up internships at VC firms that will help them mould their career in the VC space at an early stage. 
 
Since Indian startup ecosystem is still at its cradle, even those women who would want to take up a corporate career have not got enough opportunity to see how investments in startups would turn around in the long run. Or how innovative ideas can give birth to multi-billion dollar companies in the future, unlike in mature markets like the US where there are ample examples of startups, which were bit players at certain point in time, emerging as corporate behemoths valued at billions of dollars. Mobile-app-based radio taxi aggregator Uber, which raised a recent funding round at a staggering valuation of $40 billion within five years of being launched, is just one example of startups turning billion dollar opportunities for VC firms. 
 
More cash flow to startups owned by women entrepreneurs will happen only when a larger percentage of decision makers at VC firms become women who would want to nurture fellow women as future corporate leaders. 
 
Another drag is lack of concentrated efforts from the government to nurture VC investments and support the startup ecosystem. Despite the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the recent Budget presented a miserly picture when it came to allocation to nurture startups. 
 
However, the silver lining is the new law announced by market regulator SEBI, mandating at least one woman on the board of publicly-listed companies though it exempted SMEs having equity share capital of up to Rs 10 crore and net worth not exceeding Rs 25 crore. 
 
Also, corporate India seems to be slowly awakening to the need for more women in the ranks of the top honchos. The Indian unit of telecom firm Vodafone recently said it increased the percentage of women employees in its workforce to 20 per cent currently from 14 per cent two years ago and will hire even more women across levels and functions. Group Executive Council of the Tata Group too is said to be planning to double the count of women to over 300,000 from 115,000 currently in its 540,000-strong workforce. 
 
One hopes VC players in the country, too, take a cue from the SEBI directive and what larger industry peers like Vodafone and Tata Group are trying to do bring about a change when it comes to ensuring women representation in the country’s investment space. 
Image: thinkstock

Venture capital and gender gap: Where is India headed?

<ul><li>SoftBank is investing $400 million into babycare startup FirstCry. </li><li>The investment will help FirstCry become a unicorn, which are startups valued at over $1 billion. </li><li>The Japanese investment firm already has a leading stakes in many other Indian unicorn startups.</li></ul>SoftBank is leading yet another Indian startup into the unicorn club. The Japan-based investment firm has put in <a href="https://techcircle.vccircle.com/2019/01/22/exclusive-baby-products-e-tailer-firstcry-raises-150-mn-from-softbank">$400 million</a> into FirstCry, a Pune-based babycare and mothercare retailer. The investment is being put in by SoftBank in tranches, with $150 million hitting FirstCry’s as the first round. The funding will take FirstCry’s valuation to <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/01/softbank-invests-babycare-firstcry/">$800 million</a>, making it just $200 million short of becoming a unicorn, which in startup lingo is used to refer to companies valued at over $1 billion. FirstCry, founded nine years ago, has a <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/softbank-eyes-40-stake-in-firstcry-for-400-mn/">presence </a>in over 125 cities with 300 retail outlets. Its previous investors include <keyword id="145350" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IDG-Ventures">IDG Ventures</keyword>, SAIF Partners, Valiant Capital Partners and Indian businessman Ratan Tata. Indian startups have seen some big successes lately, with eight<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/india-picks-up-pace-in-producing-unicorns-8-new-startups-join-2018-club-118102501079_1.html"> unicorns </a>added to the prestigious club in just 2018, taking the total number of unicorns in the country to 18. In what reflects SoftBank’s massive role in India’s startup scene, most members of this $1 billion-valuation club include Ola, Paytm, Policybazaar, <keyword id="2550719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-Rooms">Oyo Rooms</keyword>, among others -- are already backed by the investment bank. Its $100-billion Vision Fund has its eyes set on the Indian startup ecosystem. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-minting-1-billion-from-flipkart-sale-sachin-bansal-is-now-betting-big-on-ola/articleshow/67526383.cms">Watch out Uber. Sachin Bansal gets Ola share after selling Flipkart</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">A 6-year-old Indian startup wants to be world’s biggest hotel chain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/byjus-is-going-global-with-its-latest-acquisition-of-us-based-osmo/articleshow/67569325.cms">Online tutoring startup Byju’s is the latest Indian ‘unicorn’ going global</a>

This Indian babycare startup is closing in on the unicorn club

<keyword id="1518229" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lenskart">Lenskart</keyword> on Monday said global investment firm <keyword id="6354544" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="kkr">KKR</keyword> will invest <keyword id="54123" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="USD">USD</keyword> 95 million (about Rs 695.8 crore) in the omni-channel eyewear retailer via a secondary stake acquisition. As part of the transaction, existing <keyword id="6359051" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="investors">investors</keyword> - TPG Growth and TR Capital - will each divest a portion of their holding in Lenskart, a statement said. These entities had invested in Lenskart in late 2014. Upon the completion of the transaction, KKR will look to leverage its experience working with leading technology and eyewear companies globally to support Lenskart in expanding its presence in India, scaling its growing operations overseas, and enhancing its digital offerings to augment customers' virtual and omni-store experience, the statement said. According to reports, KKR's investment is part of a larger USD 300-million round. However, the companies did not comment on the report and if other investors have participated in the round. KKR said it is making its investment from its Asian private equity fund. Some of the recent technology-focused investments for KKR in Asia include Adopt A Cow (a digitalised, direct-to-consumer dairy company in China), NetStars (the operator of Japan's largest QR code payment gateway), and Walnut Programming (a children's programming education company in China). In 2019, Lenskart had announced raising over USD 275 million (nearly ₹1,956 crore) from Softbank Vision Fund. In the past, it has received funding from investors' like Ratan Tata, PremjiInvest, <keyword id="85860" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IFC">IFC</keyword> (venture capital arm of the <keyword id="6354424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank">World Bank</keyword>), TPG Growth, IDG Ventures, Unilazer Ventures and Adveq. Established in 2010, Lenskart currently serves over 7 million customers annually through its omni-channel presence that spans online, mobile application, and 730 stores in 175 cities across the country. In 2019, Lenskart had also expanded to Singapore, marking its foray into Southeast Asia. Lenskart integrates technology into all aspects of its operations, to the browsing, shopping and purchasing experience, in addition to manufacturing and supply-chain optimisation. Among Lenskart's digital offerings is a virtual 3D try-on tool; AI-powered facial mapping and frame recommendation features; smart physical stores with seamless omni-channel experience; and footfall tracking beacons, heat maps and demographic analytics; and intelligent supply-chain and inventory-management solutions. More than 600 million people in India and 4.5 billion people globally need vision correction, but only a fraction of them use it due to a lack of access, awareness, and high-quality, affordable solutions, Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal said. Lenskart was founded to address this gap by leveraging technology to make eyewear accessible to everyone - first in India, and now worldwide, he added. "In the next five years, we aspire to have 50 per cent of India wearing our specs... We are thrilled to welcome KKR as an investor given their significant experience working with leading global eyewear retailers such as National Vision and 1-800 Contacts as well as technology-focused businesses globally," he said. KKR Partner Gaurav Trehan said as a technology-driven business, Lenskart is a strong, homegrown disruptor in India's rapidly expanding eyewear industry. "We are truly excited to work with Peyush and Lenskart's impressive management team to support Lenskart's growth and innovation in India and internationally, in addition to advancing its mission to provide affordable, accessible eyewear products for everyone," he added. Avendus Capital advised Lenskart on the transaction. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-pre-registrations-to-begin-on-may-18/articleshow/82702403.cms">PUBG Mobile: Battlegrounds Mobile India pre-registrations to begin on May 18 – rewards, maps and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ratan-tata-backed-moglix-is-the-13th-unicorn-from-india-this-year/articleshow/82702143.cms">Ratan Tata-backed Moglix is the 13th unicorn from India this year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/elon-musk-hints-that-tesla-may-dump-its-billion-dollar-bitcoin-investment/articleshow/82699553.cms">Elon Musk hints that Tesla may dump its billion dollar Bitcoin investment — here’s why his tweets have so much power</a>

Lenskart gets funding of $95 million from global investment firm KKR

The furniture market in India is worth $16 billion. The furniture and appliances rental is estimated only at a third of that. However, while the sector is growing at a sizeable 25% month-on-month, only 2% of the industry is currently online. 
 
With sharing economy being on the rise across sectors, the country has seen over 13 startups coming into the space in 2015 alone. The names include Wheelstreet, Etashee, Rentickle and Rentsetgo among others. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Rentomojo&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Rentomojo</a> is among these startups. It is a marketplace that offers furniture, furnishings, appliances and other home verticals that house hunters can book at affordable rentals. It works on an asset-light model, and makes anything from 40-50% of the rental fee as commission on every booking, with the rest going to the vendor. 
 
The company is currently in the market to raise fresh rounds. It raised $2 million in pre-Series A funding from Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India last year. 
 
Business Insider sat down with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Rentomojo&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Rentomojo</a> CEO <keyword id="3210543" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Geetansh-Bamania">Geetansh Bamania</keyword> to understand the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=online+rental&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">online rental</a> space better. 
 
Why could have caused the boom in <keyword id="3438857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="online-rental">online rental</keyword> startups? 
As soon as an industry starts making money, people start trying to get in. This industry is here to stay because India is an income-constraint economy, with a maximum of 30-40k disposable income. That’s exactly why several <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> companies are suffering. 
 
There is also a bunch of migration from tier II and tier III to tier I cities. This is because of the renewed cash flow and new opportunities being created. People are changing cities every 3 years. Combine the mobility quotient with the income constraint, and you’ll see the renting model making a lot of sense. 
 
Owning vs. renting in the long term. 
When you think of the long term, renting does lose to owning after a certain period. However, our consumer is typically somebody who’s looking to have it for 12-16 months. Also, as we go forward as a company we’ll experiment with 24-48 months rental periods. We’ll continue to offer price bands that will seem lucrative to you. 
 
OLX and Quikr are going pretty hard on add-ons and advertising. <keyword id="864887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pepperfry">Pepperfry</keyword> and <keyword id="2539960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urbanladder">UrbanLadder</keyword> now have EMI options. Are you worried? 
Our target segment is against the ownership model. You are bound to pay a pending EMI. However, renting allows you the flexibility to come out when you want. 
 
Inherently, rentals will always be lesser than EMI. That’s simple math. A <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Pepperfry&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Pepperfry</a> or <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=UrbanLadder&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">UrbanLadder</a> will have a sourcing cost, a gross margin and a final market price. However, our rental costs will always be lower as they are based on the sourcing cost, and not the market value. 
 
For second hand buying, from a unit economics perspective, I don’t know how lucrative a business it is to be in if you’re making money from relocation. 
 
Why not own some furniture? 
As the industry matures, we’ll be deploying several crore units a month. It’s not going to be scalable. Also, owning also comes with an inherent risk. 
 
The ease of operating a marketplace model is why we replicated it. That’s why our unit economics have been positive from day 1. 
 
<a href="http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/56cbe59ce4b062f6b59a4bef/0x600.jpg?fit=scale&amp;background=000000">Image Source</a>

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