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Business Standard
37 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Lenskart invests in AI startup Ajna Lens ahead of smart glasses push
Eyewear unicorn Lenskart has invested in AI startup Ajna Lens as it races to develop smart glasses ahead of its planned $1 billion IPO, marking the company's latest move into wearable technology. The investment, whose value was not disclosed by the firms, gives Lenskart access to Ajna Lens's artificial intelligence-powered extended reality (XR) technology, as the Mumbai-based startup specialises in developing advanced wearable tech products. Ajna Lens, recognised with a CES Innovation Award in 2023 for its mixed reality headset AjnaXR, is known for developing some of the most advanced wearable technology in the sector. The partnership comes as the global smart glasses market—valued at over $6 billion and expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.3 per cent—faces increasing competition from tech giants such as Meta, Apple, and Google. Lenskart said it plans to combine its capabilities in frame design and optical engineering with Ajna's technology to create smart glasses that are more accessible and aligned with everyday consumer use. The company emphasised that its approach to smart eyewear will prioritise the fundamentals of vision correction and wearability, framing them as 'glasses first' in both form and function. 'This investment marks the next chapter in our smart glass journey, which began with the launch of Phonic, our audio glasses, in December 2024,' said Peyush Bansal, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lenskart. 'As the smart glasses category scales rapidly, our partnership with Ajna Lens strategically positions us to accelerate product innovation in this space.' Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Thane, Mumbai, Ajna Lens is a deep-tech startup developing immersive technologies powered by spatial computing, AI vision, and an XR stack. The Ajna investment is part of Lenskart's broader acquisition strategy to gain access to new technologies and scale operations. The company has previously acquired firms such as Tango Eye, an artificial intelligence-based computer vision startup. In 2022, Japanese brand Owndays became part of the Lenskart group in a deal estimated at $400 million. In 2023, Neso Brands, a subsidiary of Lenskart, acquired a stake in the Paris-based eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier for $4 million. Lenskart's aggressive expansion comes as the company prepares for its public market debut. 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. The company plans to raise up to $1 billion at a targeted valuation of $10 billion and recently converted its parent entity from a private limited to a public limited company. The company has demonstrated strong financial performance ahead of its IPO. Lenskart's revenue from operations rose by 43 per cent to Rs 5,427.7 crore in FY24 from Rs 3,788 crore in FY23. The firm generates revenue by selling eyewear frames, lenses, goggles, and offering additional services such as eye check-ups. Due to cost-effective management, Lenskart reduced its losses by 84 per cent to Rs 10 crore in FY24 from Rs 63 crore in FY23. Lenskart continues to deepen its penetration in India while rapidly scaling its international presence, including in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. With a unique click-and-mortar business model, it is disrupting the eyewear industry by offering an omni-channel customer experience across online platforms, mobile applications, and stores. The company now has over 2,500 stores, of which 2,000 are in India. Globally and in India, Gurugram-based Lenskart competes with players such as Titan Eyeplus, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Warby Parker, and Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group. The company is also investing in manufacturing capabilities. It is planning to set up its largest eyewear manufacturing facility in Telangana with an investment of about Rs 1,500 crore. For this, it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to establish the facility at Fab City. The smart glasses push positions Lenskart to compete in the emerging wearable technology market, as traditional eyewear companies face pressure to innovate beyond basic vision correction, analysts say.
Mint
39 minutes ago
- Mint
Jane Street Banned in India LIVE Updates: BSE, other capital market stocks take a hit; all you need to know
Jane Street Banned in India LIVE updates: SEBI, in its order on July 3, announced banning Jane Street, a US-based trading firm, from accessing the Indian stock market for allegedly manipulating the stock market through positions in India's booming derivatives trade. As per a PTI report, this could be the highest disgorgement amount ever directed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). What is Jane Street? Jane Street Group was established in 2000 as a global proprietary trading firm in the financial services industry. According to the company's website, it has more than 3000 employees across five global offices. We trade a broad range of asset classes on more than 200 venues in 45 countries. What did SEBI order say? In its interim order, the regulator has debarred JSI Investments, JSI2 Investments Pvt Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte Ltd, and Jane Street Asia Trading, entities collectively referred to as the Jane Street Group, from trading until further notice, while continuing its investigation. The Jane Street Group has come under Sebi's scrutiny for allegedly manipulating index levels in the stock market to earn illegal profits, primarily through the highly liquid Bank Nifty and Nifty index options segments. Follow updates here: 04 Jul 2025, 02:48 PM IST The capital market stocks fell today after SEBI barred US trading firm Jane Street from the Indian stock market over alleged manipulation in derivatives trading. Angel One slumped 6%. BSE share price was down 6.4% and Central Depository Services (India) fell 3.5%. Nuvama Wealth Management, which is Jane Street's India trading partner, fell more than 9%. 04 Jul 2025, 02:40 PM IST SEBI, in its 105-page order, accused Jane Street of manipulating the Bank Nifty index—an index made up of 12 top financial stocks and popular in derivatives trading. According to SEBI, Jane Street followed two key trading strategies over more than two years that were designed to unfairly move the index. Here's how it worked: In the morning, Jane Street would buy large amounts of Bank Nifty stocks and futures to artificially push up the index. At the same time, they were placing big bets against the index using options. Later in the day, they would reverse their trades—selling what they bought earlier—to drive the index back down and profit from the drop. SEBI said this created a false sense of market activity, tricking other traders into buying or selling at misleading price levels. On days when Bank Nifty options expired, Jane Street also made large, focused trades near market close, which SEBI says was an attempt to influence the final price of the index in their favour. 04 Jul 2025, 02:21 PM IST Market regulator banned US-based trading firm Jane Street from operating in the Indian stock market, accusing it of manipulating stock indices through its trades in the derivatives segment. In what is SEBI's toughest action yet against a foreign firm, the regulator said in an order on July 3 that Jane Street and its related companies are no longer allowed to trade in India. SEBI also seized ₹ 4,843 crore from the firm, calling it illegal profits made through the alleged manipulation.
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First Post
40 minutes ago
- First Post
How US trading firm Jane Street manipulated Indian markets to earn hundreds of crores in a single day
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has accused the quantitative trading firm Jane Street and its entities of manipulating the Indian securities market. Sebi has ordered the confiscation of 'illegal gains' to the tune of Rs 4,843 crore. But what happened? How did Jane Street make a profit of hundreds of crores in a single day? read more The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given Jane Street 21 days to file a response or challenge its order. Reuters US trading firm Jane Street has been banned from accessing the Indian securities market. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has accused the New York-based company and its entities – Jane Street Singapore Pte. Ltd., Jane Street Asia Trading Ltd., JSI Investments Private Ltd., and JSI2 Investments Private Ltd – of manipulating the securities market to make a profit of thousands of crores. 'Entities are restrained from accessing the securities market and are further prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities, directly or indirectly,' Sebi said in its interim order. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sebi has said it is confiscating illegal gains to the tune of Rs 4,843 crore. It has ordered the company to deposit that money into an escrow account with a commercial bank. Sebi said the ban on Jane Street and its entities will remain in place until the investigation is complete and it passes the final order. Jane Street has said it disagrees with Sebi's decision and that it will be in touch with the market regulator. 'Jane Street is committed to operating in compliance with all regulations in the regions we operate around the world', the firm said. But what happened exactly? How did Jane Street allegedly manipulate markets to the tune of hundreds of crores in a single day? Let's take a closer look: A brief look at Jane Street Let's take a brief look at Jane Street. The company, founded in 2000, is one of the world's largest quantitative trading firms. Quantitative trading firms rely on maths and algorithms to buy and sell shares and securities. This has the benefit of taking humans and their emotions out of the equation – quite literally. Many firms and hedge funds engage in high-frequency quantitative trading. This is when hundreds of thousands of shares are bought and sold in the blink of an eye. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Quantitative trading firms rely on maths and algorithms to buy and sell shares and securities. Jane Street has been in the news recently for being exceedingly successful. The firm in 2024 reportedly generated net trading revenue worth $20.5 billion. This is more than what major behemoths such as Citigroup and Bank of America generated. The firm is now a major force on Wall Street. The company has gone global with offices around the world including in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Amsterdam. Jane Street is said to have raked in billions from trades in the Indian markets alone. What happened? The reports in major media outlets about Jane Street's incredible performance in Indian markets came to the attention of Sebi. The Indian market regulator in April 2024 opened a preliminary investigation into Jane Street's trades in India between January 2023 and March 2025. Sebi in July 2024 directed the NSE to look into Jane Street's trades. 'Sebi observed what appeared to be abnormally high or low volatility on weekly index options expiry days. Further, Sebi noted that there were certain entities consistently running what appeared to be by far the largest risks in 'cash equivalent' terms in F&O (futures and options), particularly on expiry days,' the NSE report stated. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The market regulator in its 105-page order claimed that Jane Street and its Indian entities manipulated the Bank Nifty index by taking massive positions in derivatives. The investigation, which examined Jane Street's trading patterns, found that the firm employed two major strategies to manipulate the indexes. It said the firm and its entities would purchase massive amounts in the Bank Nifty index in morning trade. This would usually be done in the cash and futures markets and thus artificially boost the index. In the meantime, the firm and its entities would also take huge short positions in index options. Then, later in the day, the company would reverse its options positions completely. For example, on January 17, 2024, Jane Street suffered a loss of Rs 61.6 crore in the cash and futures. However, it also booked a profit of Rs 734.93 crore in Bank Nifty index options. It executed a similar strategy on July 10, 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sebi said it found 'highly concentrated activity' particularly in the last hour before the market closed. It said that Jane Street did this on well over a dozen occasions – 15 times with the Bank Nifty and three times with the Nifty. 'By moving the BANKNIFTY index with large and aggressive buying followed then by large and aggressive selling, JS Group was creating a false or misleading appearance of market activity. In the bargain, it was enticing unsuspecting entities trading in BANKNIFTY index options to trade at interim levels that were artificial and temporary," Sebi said in its order. Sebi said that, under its rules, this is tantamount to manipulating the index market. Sebi said it found 'highly concentrated activity' particularly in the last hour before the market closed. Reuters It said such Jane Street and its entities engaged in 'egregious manipulation of the prices of securities and benchmark indices for their own illegal gains, to the detriment of several lakhs of small market participants'. In the two-year time period that the Sebi investigated, Jane Street was found to have made a profit of Rs 44,358 crore in options, lost Rs 7,208 crore in stock futures, Rs 191 crores in index futures and Rs 288 crore in cash. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nevertheless, Jane Street made an overall profit of Rs 36,671 crore. Sebi has impounded the profits made in all the 18 days it found between the two-year period. It is this money, which amounts to Rs 4,843 crore, which the Sebi has confiscated as 'illegal gains'. Sebi has given Jane Street 21 days to file any reply or objections to its order. The company can also challenge the Sebi order judicially via the Securities Appellate Tribunal. India derivatives market India is the world's largest derivatives market. It comprised nearly 60 per cent of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, according to the Futures Industry Association. However, derivatives are not for the faint of heart. Sebi last year released a study showing that though foreign firms made money trading in index derivatives, retail investors did not. In fact, individual investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in index trading over the past two years. A source in the know of Sebi's thinking said the decision to bar Jane Street was announced on a Thursday evening after the week's derivative cycle expired. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This would thus minimise any wider impact on the markets. Also, starting July 1, the regulator has tightened rules for positions being taken in derivatives which would help limit the impact if any, the source added. Market liquidity is unlikely to be impacted, the source said, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. With inputs from agencies
