Consumer tech products brand Boat on Friday said it has received funding from Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated.
While Boat did not disclose the quantum of funding received, it said the investment will support the brand's plans of rolling out new audio and lifestyle products across geographies as well as building up R&D and manufacturing capabilities.
Qualcomm is a world leader in wireless technologies and Boat has a shared vision of building world-class products for India and the world, Boat co-founder Sameer Mehta said in a statement.
"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. We believe this relationship will contribute to greater technology collaboration, quicker deployment, and refining of product portfolio across price points," he added.
Boat has clocked a rapid revenue growth, witnessing over 100 per cent over the past several years. In the past year, it doubled its employee strength and built up a local R&D in Bengaluru.
The company also expanded into newer categories like smartwatches, besides launching over 20 new products in the audio category in 2020-21.
In January this year, Boat had announced raising USD 100 million (about Rs 731.6 crore) in funding from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm.
Rajen Vagadia, Vice President and President of Qualcomm India, said India is one of the world's largest consumer markets, with untapped potential.
"Qualcomm Ventures' investment in Boat is one of the many steps we are taking to reinforce India's twin missions of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (a self-reliant India) and Make-in-India-for-the world, by enabling cutting edge technology innovation and R&D in India," he said.
As a technology enabler and an investor with a long-standing presence in India, Qualcomm looks forward to being part of Boat's growth and powering its vision of delivering world-class products to consumers, not just for India but for supporting their vision of global expansion, he added.
