Tech3 | TCS chief Rajesh Gopinathan resigns; Lenskart’s $500M fundraise; and more

Breaking: In a major leadership overhaul, Tata Consultancy Services managing director & CEO Rajesh Gopinathan has stepped down from the country’s largest IT firm. He will stay on with the company till 15 September 2023.

• K. Krithivasan has been nominated as the CEO Designate by the company board, with effect from 16 March 2023

One important thing: Freshworks, a Nasdaq-listed Software-as-a-Service firm, has undertaken another round of layoffs across teams in its offices in India and the US.

• The company said this layoff is aimed at boosting efficiency and is unrelated to Silicon Valley Bank's collapse.

In today’s newsletter:

• Lenskart gets flat top-up from ADIA
• Vishal Sikka on India’s AI responsibility
• Inside IIT Madras: A deep tech haven

Lenskart gets flat top-up from ADIA

Has Lenskart managed to defy the funding winter? 

Well, it did raise one of the largest funding rounds of the recent past, but didn’t get a valuation markup.

Driving the news: Lenskart has raised $500 million from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the second-largest funding round of 2023 after PhonePe’s proposed $1 billion fundraise.

• Lenskart raised the new funding at its existing valuation of $4.5 billion
• The funding was a mix of primary and secondary sales, and upon completion, ADIA will hold about 10% of the eyewear firm
• With the latest round, Lenskart has raised $750 million since 2022 

What will the funds be used for?

The Peyush Bansal-led startup plans to use the funds to expand its Indian and global presence.

• Lenskart currently claims to have over 2,000 stores, with 1,500 in India and the rest in Southeast Asia and the Middle East

Lenskart said that its new factory, which will produce 20 million pairs of eyewear that the company plans to ship next year, will be operational soon.

The company also claims that its revenue has increased by more than 60% for two consecutive years and that it is profitable.

• In FY22 (2021-22), Lenskart slipped into losses after achieving a profit of Rs 29 crore in the previous fiscal year

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