boAt champions Make in India, collaborates with semiconductor startup HrdWy
India’s semiconductor ecosystem marked a major advancement with the launch of the HrdWyr Indus 1011, a fully indigenously designed, high-volume, branded chip. The chip is designed and developed by semiconductor startup HrdWyr in collaboration with boAt, India’s No.1 audio wearables brand, with assembly, packaging, and testing support from Tata Electronics. The launch reflects the growing capability of Indian companies to drive innovation across the semiconductor value chain.
What makes this milestone truly significant is boAt’s evolution from collaborating with leading international players at the chipset level to now placing a bold bet on a homegrown startup. In a sector, long reliant on global semiconductor supply chains, boAt has become the first Indian audio wearables brand to extend such backing to a domestic partner at the core chipset stage. By doing so, the brand is not just leveraging indigenous innovation to differentiate its products but also demonstrating strategic foresight and a commitment to strengthening India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
The result of this collaboration is a high-volume chip, designed entirely in India by HrdWyr that brings significant innovations in intelligent battery management. It will debut at scale in boAt’s upcoming premium TWS charging cases early next year. More importantly, it demonstrates how Indian consumer brands can become catalysts for semiconductor-level innovation, localization and capability building.
The collaboration between boAt and HrdWyr represents a first-of-its-kind model for India. boAt brought consumer insights, end-user pain points, and market needs, while HrdWyr translated these into chip features by developing new IPs tailored for low-power, performance and reliability by using data-first principles to build next generation AISoCs*. In doing so, boAt has emerged as a trailblazer - the lead customer that gave a young Indian semiconductor startup the platform, scale, and confidence to innovate globally.
Completing the semiconductor ecosystem loop, Tata Electronics has enabled assembly, packaging and testing in India, ensuring that design, IP creation, and packaging have all been executed domestically. This reinforces the Government of India’s vision for Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat, while contributing to the broader Make in India, Digital India, and India Semiconductor Mission(s).
Speaking on the announcement, Sameer Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, boAt, said: “boAt has consistently backed the Make in India vision. We have always believed in pushing the boundaries of innovation to deliver world-class products. By taking the first-mover step to collaborate with HrdWyr at the semiconductor level, we are demonstrating that India’s consumer brands can be ecosystem enablers. We are proud to show that true product differentiation comes from innovation at the chip level, and this can be achieved right here in India.”
Ramamurthy Sivakumar, Co-founder and CEO, HrdWyr, added: “Semiconductors and AI are the foundation of all modern economies. Strategic autonomy in semiconductor innovation and supply chain is an imperative for large economies like India. Fabless product companies like HrdWyr are critical to achieving this goal, eventually taking Indian innovation to the world. This milestone proves that India can innovate at the deepest levels of technology - semiconductor product design and IP creation. With boAt’s bold trust in a homegrown chip and Tata Electronics’ manufacturing capabilities, we are showing that India’s semiconductor ecosystem is ready for global scale.”
This collaboration is more than a product milestone; it is a defining proof-point for India’s semiconductor ambitions. By daring to be the first to adopt a homegrown chip, boAt has set in motion a new model for customer–startup collaboration, accelerated India’s self-reliance in deep tech, and positioned Indian innovation on the global stage.
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