US-based audio equipment maker
Bose
has bought a minority stake in Indian wearables startup Noise. This is Noise' first ever fundraise.
Noise
announced the strategic investment from Bose as a part of the Series A round.
Speaking about the partnership, the Gurugram-based company’s cofounder, Amit Khatri, said, “It’s about the right partnership at the right time, and we firmly believe that our strategic alliance with Bose will be a pivotal juncture in our journey towards revolutionizing the future of smart wearables realm.
Bose’s belief in us validates our relentless pursuit of innovation, aimed at delivering transformative technology for today’s consumer. We are excited to partner with a company like Bose whose technical expertise and global experience will help us augment our capabilities and elevate our offerings.
“As we looked at the opportunity to reach more people with the benefits of our technology in India, investing in Noise became an obvious choice,” said
Nicholas Smith
, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Bose. “Their leadership in the wearables category and understanding of their customers will allow us to collaborate and bring new, differentiated products to a growing market,” he added.
Khatri added that Noise is looking to raise more funds going ahead. Noise, however, did not disclose the investment figure or the quantum of stake acquired by Bose, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
Noise stood second in the overall wearables segment in the September quarter, having a 10.8% market share, but with a flat 0.6% on-year growth in shipments. The company competes with homegrown brands such as Boat,
Fireboltt
and
Boult Audio
in the audio and wearables segment such as Bluetooth earphones and smartwatches. Fireboltt and Boult Audio are bootstrapped, while Boat is backed by investors including Warburg Pincus.
Noise’s FY23 net profit plunged to Rs 88 lakh, from Rs 35.5 crore in FY22, due to a sharp rise in expenses.
English (US) ·