Indkal in talks to raise $80 mn after $20-mn bridge round; eyes smartphone manufacturing JV

funding

Indkal Technologies has raised $20 million in a Series B bridge round led by existing investors and select family offices to scale its TV brand Wobble Displays, and is now in talks to secure up to $80 million by the fiscal year-end to expand its consumer durables and smartphone businesses.

The Bengaluru-based electronics designer and maker is also exploring a manufacturing joint venture for smartphones, which it expects will be a key growth driver this year and beyond.

“While this bridge round of $20 million is for our brand Wobble and mainly the TV business, the larger round will cover all our businesses, including air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines, where we’ve already seen strong growth. It will also support large appliances, televisions, and smartphones, which are all capital-intensive businesses,” CEO Anand Dubey told Moneycontrol in an interaction.

The bridge round is part of the larger raise, with most of the capital coming from existing backers. A couple of new family offices have joined, but will also participate in the bigger round. “Our Series B is broken into two parts: this bridge round, and then a larger round towards the end of the financial year,” Dubey said.

The larger round, he added, will also help Indkal build component manufacturing capabilities, especially sub-assemblies, through its electronics manufacturing services (EMS) partners. “We are exploring participation in the new component PLI scheme through partners,” he said.

This fresh capital comes on the back of Indkal’s $36 million (around Rs 300 crore) raise in June. The company plans to channel the $20 million funding into R&D, expanding its premium product portfolio, strengthening sales and service networks, and amplifying marketing for its Wobble Displays brand, which it aims to position as a high-end homegrown player. Wobble will also enter the premium segment with larger televisions and interactive displays.

Beyond displays, Indkal is also preparing to manufacture smartphones in-house for both Acer-branded devices and its own upcoming Wobble smartphones. Currently, Acer phones are produced by China’s Ismartu, which has a joint venture with Dixon.

Dubey said smartphones will be a major focus for the next phase of growth. “That’s where we want to exercise greater control. Smartphone is one area where we want to jointly or individually invest in larger capacity and build stronger manufacturing and R&D capabilities. For other categories where EMS/ODM players already have scale—like televisions—we will continue to partner rather than build our own factories,” he said.

Indkal has long-standing EMS partnerships with Dixon Technologies for televisions, including joint product development, and with PG Electronics for air conditioners. “These are large, strategic partnerships,” Dubey noted.

Within the next 24–36 months, the company aims to scale its smartphone business significantly, with an initial capacity plan of 5 million units annually and room to expand further.

Indkal, which holds licenses from Acer (for televisions and smartphones) and US-based Black & Decker (for large appliances and televisions), also operates its own brands—Wobble for displays and smartphones, and Perrel for large and mid-sized appliances.

The company closed last fiscal at around Rs 850 crore in gross sales and expects strong growth this year, led by its smartphone foray. “We’re already surpassing last year’s quarter-on-quarter numbers, even with a slow market. The smartphone launch this year will add significantly to revenue. The outcome will also depend on how Diwali sales go, especially after GST reforms take effect,” Dubey said.