Warburg Pincus Invests $100 Million In Audio Products Startup boAt
boAt will spend the newly raised capital to widen its R&D capabilities, localise manufacturing and expand product portfolio.
New-York based private equity Warburg Pincus infused $100 million (Rs 730 crore) into boAt in a growth round as the low-cost headphones, earphones and smartwatches maker looks to strengthen its dominance in the homegrown market and expand manufacturing in the country.
The round values the four-year-old startup at around $300 million, a person in the know told BloombergQuint on the company, while the company declined to comment.
“The investment is great news for not only the company but for the entire D2C (direct-to-consumer) sector. It has come at the right time as we make efforts to ramp up our manufacturing and global supply chain,” Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt, said in a statement.
The Delhi-based company will spend the newly raised capital to widen its research and development capabilities, localise its manufacturing and expand product portfolio. Last year, the firm had raised Rs 25 crore from Innoven Capital. It also counts Sachin Bansal’s Navi technologies (earlier BAC Acquisitions) as a debt investor and Fireside Ventures as its equity investor.
Founded in 2016, the consumer lifestyle accessories startup started with selling mobile cables and chargers. It now claims to have become a leading wireless headset brand in India. With demand for about 15,000 units a day, it now sells everything from smartwatches, smart bands, speakers to power banks.
boAt, according to an International Data Corporation report, is fifth largest in the global wearables market, only behind Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung.
“We see a compelling growth story in boAt and believe the company is well-poised to build upon the strong leadership position it has carved out within the industry and stands to benefit from the secular tailwinds of e-commerce growth in India,” Vishal Mahadevia, managing director and head at Warburg Pincus India, said.