boAt Raises ₹500 Crore Funding But Withdraws IPO Plan

Aman Gupta’s company boAt has raised funding of ₹500 crore ($60 million) from 2 investors to expand smartwatches segment & local manufacturing ecosystem.

BoAt Lifestyle, a manufacturer of consumer electronics, disclosed that it has collected $60 million (₹500 crore) from existing shareholders, a Warburg Pincus subsidiary, plus a new investor Malabar Investment. 

The money will be used to develop a regional manufacturing environment and extend its line of smartwatches.

According to media sources, the company reportedly abandoned its initial public offering (IPO) plan for ₹ 2,000 crore, citing shaky market circumstances. 

boAt joins the group of other businesses that have delayed their ambitions to list this year, including FirstCry, Pharmeasy, and Droom Technologies. In February of this year, boAt launched its draft prospectus document.

In the months leading up to the IPO, the company also made changes to its senior management team, appointing Sameer Mehta as chief product officer, Aman Gupta as chief marketing officer, and Vivek Gambhir as CEO.

The nine-year-old business, which dominated the earphones industry and rose to become one of the most well-known direct-to-consumer brands in the nation, is now aiming to dominate the smartwatch sector.

“Our current objective is to make smartwatches our secondary core, and we’ll follow the boAt digital strategy to dominate this market as well. 

With the additional money, we will be able to make considerable investments to compete in the smartwatch market with cutting-edge new products. 

We are also delighted that investors remain firmly convinced of and confident in the boAt story “Co-founder and chief marketing officer Aman Gupta made a statement.

In India, the wrist wearables market has enormous potential. IDC believes that it was the fastest-growing segment in the wearables sector for the months of April through June, with shipping increasing by nearly four times to 6.4 million devices from 1.6 million units in the same quarter last year. 

In the most recent quarter, Noise and Fire-Boltt were among the top two firms in the wristwatch industry, while boAt fell to third place, making India the second-largest smartwatch industry in the world, behind the US.

The business also stated that it is advancing its efforts to diversify its manufacturing footprint through alliances with other top Indian companies that offer electronics manufacturing services, including Dixon, with whom it formed a joint venture in January of this year.

According to a statement from the company, a sizable amount of boAt’s products are now made in India, where roughly a million units are currently produced each month. 

The business is also making preparations to expand the boAt brand internationally.