Having cemented its position as the number two player globally in earwear, boAt is ready to ramp up its footprint with a fresh round of investment. The leading D2C electronics and wearables start-up by founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta has announced the raising of INR 500 crore ($60 million) from current investor, Warburg Pincus, and a new investor, Malabar Investments.
This latest series of funding ‘reflects continued conviction and confidence from investors in the boAt story’, according to the official statement. As a result, boAt has now set its sights toward expanding its footprint across geographies and channels, with an emphasis on establishing boAt globally and augment its status as a category leader in audio. R&D, design and boAt’s support of the local Make In India manufacturing ecosystem will also receive a timely impetus.
When Will boAt Launch Its IPO?
This development arrives at a time when boAt has been mulling over launching an IPO after it was allowed to raise INR 180 crore before getting listed. However, as a consequence of the fresh fundraise and in compliance with SEBI regulations, the company has ‘proactively’ withdrawn its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed in January to launch an IPO worth INR 2000 crore this year.
Now, boAt’s IPO launch is expected to be reassessed in the next 12-18 months, with the company officially stating that it intends to go public ‘once we have scaled up our wearables business and when financial markets improve’. According to the latest data, boAt registered INR 3000 crore in revenue with a 100% year-on-year growth in FY22.
Towards Becoming a Global Leader
Since its launch in 2014, boAt has fast-tracked its growth to become a market leader across smart wearables and audio electronics. boAt also enjoys technology partnerships with globally-renowned players like Qualcomm, Dirac, and Dolby. Recently, it also entered into a joint venture with electronics manufacturing services player Dixon Technologies. At present, boAt manufacturers over 1 million units of its products in India on a monthly basis.
boAt’s focus on diversifying its portfolio has resulted in five brands to its name, including boAt, as well as the likes of Redgear, Tagg, Defy, and Misfit –the company’s own personal and grooming brand. With fresh investment providing a fillip to turbo-charge its growth further, boAt is now ready to become a global leader across categories. boAt Co-Founder and CMO Aman Gupta emphasised on this point further:
We now want to make smartwatches our second core and will replicate the boAt digital playbook to become global leaders in this category as well. The new funding will allow us to invest significantly to disrupt the smart watches space with more innovative products.
