Since its inception back in 2016, boAt went on to become one of the most successful accessory brands in India. The Bengaluru-based company recently raised $100 million from Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm. And today, boAt has announced that it has received a hefty investment from Qualcomm Ventures, the investment wing of global chipmaking giant Qualcomm.
The company did not reveal much about the investment from Qualcomm. However, as per reports, the amount of investment is speculated to be Rs 50 crores (~$6.7 million). boAt plans to utilize this funding to develop next-gen audio and lifestyle products for the Indian market.
“As boAt enters the next phase of growth and innovation, we look forward to building a relationship with Qualcomm to deepen our R&D capabilities and further augment our efforts to manufacture products in India,” said Sameer Mehta, the co-founder of boAt.
Now, for the uninitiated, boAt is an Indian earwear audio brand that has gained a ton of popularity in the market. The company started out the journey with chargers and cables but shifted to value-for-money audio accessories going forward. Last year, the company became the TWS market leader in India as its shipments grew 723% in Q3 2020.
So, with the recent investment from Qualcomm, boAt will continue to develop high-quality audio and lifestyle accessories to cater to the middle-class consumers in India.
The company, apart from selling Bluetooth speakers and TWS earbuds at affordable price points, also launched its first smartwatch at Rs 1,999 (~$27) last year. Further, as per our earlier reports, boAt also aims to venture into the gaming-accessory market to compete with other budget-centric brands in India.
