FARIDABAD, India—Lenskart, the India-based optical retailer, is investing between $2 million and $3 million in early stage startups that are working on either products or technologies that offer affordable eyecare solutions. The company’s plans, first reported by Economic Times and the PTI news agency, include a $500,000 investment in ThinOptics, a California company that makes foldable reading glasses that can be attached to a user's phone or keychain. Lenskart founder and chief executive Peyush Bansal told PTI that the intent for investing in these early-stage startups is to collaborate in development of innovative products.

Bansal spoke about Lenskart’s efforts to improve access to eyecare in India at Vision Monday’s 2016 Global Leadership Summit.

Other recent investments by Lenskart include $1 million to acquire a minority stake in 6over6, an Israeli start-up that lets eyeglass wearers determine the power of their lenses using a smartphone app, and a stake in Ditto, a U.S. company that has developed a virtual try-on system for eyewear that features 3D face modeling.