boAt Partners with HrdWyr to Develop First India-Made Chip, Targets 25% Device Integration by 2026

India’s largest audio brand boAt is taking a big step toward localising its component ecosystem by co-designing a chip with Bengaluru-based semiconductor startup HrdWyr to cut import dependence and strengthen supply chain resilience. The HrdWyr Indus 1011, an MCU-class SoC designed for headset charging cases, will be assembled and packaged in India by Tata Electronics. boAt plans to integrate the chip into 25% of its devices by 2026, starting with the premium Nirvana range. “This will be the first locally sourced chip in the category. It will improve battery efficiency by 20–30% and eventually integrate AI features for smarter power management,” said Sameer Mehta, Co-founder & CEO of boAt. The prototype will be ready by December 2025, with commercial rollout in mid-2026. Initially, the SoC will power Nirvana devices, later expanding into boAt’s Prime and AirDopes ranges as volumes scale. For HrdWyr, led by Ramamurthy Sivakumar, the collaboration is about building a scalable semiconductor ecosystem in India. Around 30–35 engineers are working on the chip, with 80% of engineering based in Bengaluru. Manufacturing and packaging will be done domestically, making it one of the first high-volume branded chips out of India. Mehta said the move is aimed not at immediate cost savings but at building a local chip ecosystem. “Costs will become competitive once economies of scale kick in. We stepped in as the anchor customer to make this possible,” he added. boAt continues to dominate India’s audio market, holding 30–33% share for 13 straight quarters, nearly double its nearest rival. The company already produces 80% of its 30 million annual units in India and aims to raise this to 90–95%. #boAt #HrdWyr #MakeInIndia #Semiconductors #TechInnovation #AudioMarket #SupplyChain #TataElectronics