New Delhi, April 9 -- Global audio and electronics giant Bose Corp has doubled down on its investment in homegrown consumer electronics brand Noise, which primarily sells smartwatches and audio devices.

Bose has invested $20 million (around Rs 173 crore at the current exchange rate) in Delhi-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand Noise. It previously invested in the company in December 2023 as part of a Series A round.

Noise, operated by Nexxbase Marketing Pvt. Ltd, had not disclosed the amount Bose invested at the time. However, regulatory disclosures show Bose put in Rs 83 crore (about $10 million then) in the company.

Noise was founded in 2014 by Gaurav Khatri and Amit Khatri. The company remained bootstrapped till 2013. It is one of the leading players in the homegrown smartwatch segment.

In the financial year through March 2024, Noise's revenue from operations remained flat at Rs 1,430.1 crore, compared with Rs 1,426.5 crore the year before. At the same time, the company slipped into losses in FY24 with a net loss of Rs 20.1 crore against a net profit of Rs 0.88 crore, according to VCCedge, the data intelligence platform of VCCircle.

Noise competes against the likes of homegrown company boAt, which is backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus and Fireside Ventures, as well as players like Realme, Amazefit, PLAY, and Fire-Boltt.

Founded in 1964, Bose sells high-end audio products such as headphones, speakers, and audio wearables. It runs its corporate venture arm Bose Ventures, which invests in a wide range of early-stage companies. Its focus areas include audio, software and wearable.

Besides investment, it also supports product development, user experience, market analytics, customer insights, brand management, intellectual property, supply chain management, and global launch and sales. Some of the companies from its global portfolio include wireless earbuds and smart audio device maker Bragi, healthtech platform MedRythms, and assisted reality wearable solutions provider Realwear, among others.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.