BoAt is one of the most celebrated startups in India. In very short, it has grown multifold, but the growth that we have witnessed in the past is almost faded. The company’s revenues have plateaued.
In the last two financial years, the revenues have seen a dip. But before seeing a dip, the company had grown multifold every single year. The whole story has changed now. What’s even more important to understand is that the company has been delaying its IPO for the last three years. Initially, it was planned for an IPO a few years back, but it is being delayed.
Now comes the actual question: Is BoAt sinking? Or has a strong sail ahead? Before we dive deeper into the company, let’s understand a bit about the company and then figure out what’s happening.
BoAt was started as a challenger brand in India’s audio accessory market, which was once dominated by foreign players like JBL, Sony, and Skullcandy. Within a few years, BoAt transformed into a market leader in personal audio and one of India’s most recognizable D2C brands.
Initially, the growth was driven by aggressive pricing. They targeted the ₹1,000–₹3,000 segment, undercutting global brands. Though there are some products above this range, most of them fall under this budget segment. On top of it, this range attracted the attention of the youth, and with influencer marketing campaigns, it gained traction in a short span.
With the strong rise in sales and customer base, they rapidly expanded SKUs—from wired earphones to Bluetooth, smartwatches, and lifestyle wearables. They launched products frequently and kept the brand always new. This model worked perfectly in a country transitioning to mass smartphone adoption and cheap internet. BoAt became the go-to brand for Gen Z and millennials.
When there was so much buzz happening around the brand, we could also see some bullish moves in the financials.
In FY 2020, BoAt crossed about ₹704 crore, and then in FY 21, they crossed over ₹1,500 crore. Strong performance in its audio product segment drove this growth. But what’s even more fascinating is that, in FY 22, they clocked revenue of ₹2,872.90 crore. In FY 23, it reached ₹3,403.1 crore.
That’s nearly five times the growth in just three years, driven largely by volume sales in audio devices and an expanding product base. BoAt’s share in India’s personal audio market touched new highs, and it became the No. 1 wearable brand in India by volume.
Post FY23, the company hit a plateau. Revenues in FY24 stood around ₹3,117 crore, which is a decline from the previous year, and FY25 clocked nearly the same at ₹3,097 crore. While the company managed to swing back to profitability with a ₹60 crore profit after two consecutive years of losses, the growth engine seems to have cooled.
But why did the whole story change?
In the last few years, India’s affordable audio and wearables market has reached a clear saturation point, and this has hit BoAt right at its core. Earlier, BoAt had given tough competition to the existing players. But with the entry of players such as Noise, Boult, and Fire-Boltt—who have aggressively captured chunks of the same sub-₹3,000 price band that made BoAt famous—the landscape shifted.
According to Counterpoint Research (2024), BoAt still leads India’s TWS (True Wireless Stereo) segment with around 33% market share, but that dominance is no longer as comfortable as it once was. Boult has emerged as the fastest-growing brand, expanding its TWS share from about 9.7% in 2023 to nearly 13% in 2024, while Noise continues to dominate the smartwatch category, where BoAt’s presence has weakened considerably. Across the overall wearables market, BoAt maintains leadership with roughly 26–28% share (IDC 2024), but the gap with competitors is shrinking.
One more important shift to understand is that the entire wearables industry has started showing fatigue, with India’s smartwatch shipments dropping nearly 30% year-on-year in 2024.
After experiencing a prolonged downturn, India’s smartwatch market has shown signs of recovery in the latest quarter. According to IDC, smartwatch shipments rebounded by 21% year-on-year in Q3 2025, signaling a shift from the previous six consecutive quarters of decline. Brands like Noise and BoAt have capitalized on this trend, with Noise maintaining its lead with a 30.9% market share, while BoAt secured 13.7%, according to IDC’s Q2 2025 report.
As the total market stagnates, every percentage point of share loss now directly translates into hundreds of crores in missed revenue. The surge of rival brands, deeper offline penetration, frequent discounting, and heavy promotional wars have pushed margins thinner than ever before.
These are the reasons for the decline in revenues, and during these uncertainties, going for an IPO could impact the company negatively.
Despite these headwinds, BoAt still has considerable growth potential. Its brand recognition, loyal customer base, and dominant TWS market share give it a strong foundation. The company now faces the challenge of moving up the value chain, expanding smartwatches and premium wearables, and protecting its margins in a crowded market.
At the heart of BoAt’s strategy is its leadership team. Aman Gupta and the co-founders remain closely involved in steering the company. Their stake, vision, and operational oversight will play a crucial role as BoAt navigates competitive pressures, explores premium segments, and finally charts its course to a successful IPO.
Also Read: The Harsh Truth About India’s Startup Ecosystem Nobody Talks About
