Warby Parker sets sights on IPO

Warby Parker, maker of prescription eyewear, has plans to launch an IPO this year. The news was reported by Bloomberg. The New York-based company is discussing a potential listing with advisers after their latest round of funding.

Recently, the company raised 120 million dollars in a 2020 funding round, putting its valuation at 3 billion dollars. The company is hoping to surpass its current valuation through launching an IPO.

While investors would keep their eyes on a potential Warby Parker IPO, it’s possible they could decide against going public entirely as talks are only preliminary. The company’s current investors include General Catalyst, Tiger Global Management, Forerunner Ventures, Spark Capital, and Menlo Ventures.

Warby Parker is consider the blueprint company for direct-to-consumer in the twenty first century. When the company launched in 2010, direct-to-consumer was still a rising concept, and they arguably caused a domino effect with many emerging brands doing direct-to-consumer before diving into wholesale.