boAt Acquires Singapore Based Smart Wearables Startup Cove IoT

boAt’s parent company Imagine Marketing Private Limited has signed an agreement to acquire Singapore-based KaHa Pte Ltd (Cove IoT), a wearable smart IoT (internet-of-things) product development startup.

boAt will be looking to augment its wearable products with KaHa’s concept, design, electronic firmware, algorithm development, android and iOS applications, and other features and capabilities.

Founded in 2015 by  Pawan Gandhi, Justin Tang, and Sudheendra Shantharam, KaHa sells IoT products including smartwatches, smart shirts, smart belt buckle and Bluetooth-enabled wallets under the brand Cove.

According to a press note, Cove has a patented technology stack and has applied for over 30 patents. It also claims to hire over 90 professionals and domain experts. 

“We are passionate about providing a compelling value proposition to our wide audience of young, digitally-enabled and trend-conscious consumers by offering a portfolio of well-designed and distinctive lifestyle-oriented products, indigenized and offered at attractive prices,” said Sameer Mehta, cofounder and chief product officer, boAt. 

India’s wearables market grew by 93.8% year-on-year in 3Q21 (July-Sept), shipping over 23.8 Mn despite logistics and other challenges put up by supply chain issues, according to the recent data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker.

“Our DNA lies in cutting edge product development and building smart IoT products that solve consumer problems. We look forward to working with the boAt team to make wearable technology an enriching and life-changing part of the consumer’s everyday life and building a vibrant wearables ecosystem,” said Pawan Gandhi, CEO and cofounder of Cove. 

Founded by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta in 2016, boAt is a consumer electronics startup that manufactures products including earphones, headphones, speakers, soundbars, travel chargers, premium rugged cables, and more.  

Last week, we reported on how boAt has posted a profit after tax of INR 78.6 Cr in FY21, marking a 61% rise over INR 48.85 Cr of profits it made in FY20. During the previous financial year, it had posted revenues of INR 1,531 Cr, double the figure in the previous year.

Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the same period was INR 127.1 Cr. The startup also hiked up its expenditure by 122% from INR 637.5 Cr in FY20 to INR 1,420 Cr in FY21.

Material costs made up a majority of its expenses clocking about INR 1,285 Cr, marking a 157% rise over the previous year.