Stake Sale At Lenskart, Ethereal Bags $28 Mn & More

ADIA Sheds Lenskart Stake

Investors are booking profits after the expiration of the IPO lock-in period for Lenskart shares. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has now sold the eyewear giant’s shares worth ₹1,960 Cr, marking the third major stake sale by an institutional backer this week.

ADIA Gets The Golden Parachute: The sovereign wealth fund, via its Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, sold 4 Cr shares at ₹490 apiece. Notably, ADIA had first invested in Lenskart in 2023, buying stakes worth $500 Mn via primary and secondary transactions.

Buyers Swoop In: While heavyweights like Kotak Mahindra MF, Canara Robeco MF and NPS Trust anchored domestic buying, Wall Street titans such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley absorbed the foreign tranches, signalling deep institutional confidence.

Post Lock-In Cascade: The latest ADIA block deal is part of a broader profit-booking wave sweeping through Lenskart’s cap table after the company’s six-month post-IPO lock-in expired on May 8. Early backers are moving to materialise their gains, including SoftBank’s ₹2,873.3 Cr divestment on June 3 and JP Morgan’s subsequent ₹96.42 Cr sale on June 5. 

This liquidity event mirrors similar actions by Alpha Wave Ventures and TR Capital, who collectively sold stakes worth ₹3,861 Cr on May 9, right after the regulatory gate opened.

Robust Foundations: Despite the churn in shareholding, Lenskart’s stock has held up well. Since its November 2025 debut, the shares have gained nearly 25% over the IPO issue price of ₹402, supporting an m-cap of about ₹87,345 Cr. This market stability is anchored in strong financials. Revenue rose 46% YoY to ₹2,515.7 Cr in Q4 FY26, despite a minor 7.5% YoY profit compression to ₹203.6 Cr. 

As early backers dump stakes to secure their returns, will the newly onboarded mutual funds stabilise the eyewear giant’s valuation? While that is a story for another day, here is all about ADIA trimming its shareholding in Lenskart… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Ethereal Machines Bags $28 Mn

• The deeptech manufacturing startup has raised about ₹272 Cr in its Series B round led by Avataar Ventures to build a 3 Lakh sq ft unit, invest in its AI-powered software Vesper, and develop an indigenous multi-axis CNC controller.
• Founded in 2014, Ethereal Machines designs, builds and operates proprietary multi-axis CNC machines, which can deliver up to sub-10-micron accuracy at scale. With the latest round, it has raised nearly $50 Mn to date.
• The funding comes amid rising investor interest in deeptech startups, driven by policy support and the rise of technologies like AI. The sector is projected to contribute $350 Bn to India’s GDP by 2030, raising a record $530 Mn in capital in 2025. 

Opendoor Shuts India Office

• The US-based proptech company has laid off its entire India team, impacting around 250 employees, citing AI-led automation. This company claims to have unified its manual workflows, which were earlier handled by offshore Indian employees.
• The company last expanded its team in India in 2024 after it opened new offices in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. However, the plans now appear to have taken a backseat amid growing calls in the US to reduce dependence on Indian IT workers.
• Founded in 2014, Opendoor buys and resells residential real estate across the US. It has been facing turmoil in recent years due to a slowdown in the real estate market due to rising losses, high mortgage rates and stagnant paychecks. 

OneAssist’s Refurbished Playbook

• Less than 8% of annual smartphone sales in India are currently covered by protection plans. OneAssist is trying to widen this market with Hawk Eye, its AI-powered layer that can judge the condition of old smartphones and extend their protection plans.
• The startup claims that Hawk Eye is already processing around 5,000 devices a month and has assessed more than 40,000 devices so far. It plans to scale the number to over 1 Lakh devices in FY27 via retail, fintech and distribution partnerships.
• For OneAssist, the opportunity lies in moving into the secondary smartphone market, where trust, repair history and device condition are major barriers for buyers. With this, it wants to become the verification layer between sellers and buyers.

Manam Chocolate Bags $9 Mn

• The D2C premium craft chocolate brand has raised about ₹86 Cr in its Series A round led by Omnivore to launch new retail spaces in the Delhi NCR over the next 12 months.
• Founded in 2021, Manam Chocolate sells a range of confectionery products, including chocolate bars, beverages and desserts. Sourcing cacao directly from farmers in Andhra Pradesh, it claims to have more than 300 SKUs across 50 categories.
• The funding comes amid growing consumer appetite for craft chocolates, driven by rising interest in artisanal products and cleaner ingredients. At the heart of all this is the Indian premium chocolate market, projected to reach $639.7 Mn by 2033.

IN-SPACe Backs Three Startups

• Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre has selected three homegrown spacetech startups for funding under its Technology Adoption Fund scheme. The selected ventures include Astrobase, SatSure and TakeMe2Space.
• Under the scheme, the space body will offer technical guidance and milestone-linked disbursement of funds to ensure successful implementation of their projects. The investment for each project was capped at ₹25 Cr.
• While Astrobase is developing a high-thrust closed-cycle liquid rocket engine for space launch vehicles, SatSure will develop a large earth observation model for remote sensing applications. TakeMe2Space is building orbital data centres. 

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