In a resounding endorsement of India’s hardware renaissance, Bengaluru-based AI hardware startup Brandworks Technologies has raised $11 million in a Series A round led by the Roha Family Office, with participation from Sauce VC, Better Capital, and All In Capital. The fresh capital will fuel the establishment of a dedicated design center in Taiwan, aggressive team expansion from 35 to 120 engineers by mid-2026, and the scaling of its proprietary electronics manufacturing stack that slashes new product development timelines from 18–24 months to just 6–9 months. Founded in 2022 by IIT Bombay alumni Arjun Pillai and Anoop Kishore, Brandworks is quietly becoming the “Foxconn of consumer electronics design” for Indian D2C and global brands—delivering end-to-end hardware solutions from ideation to mass production. As India’s consumer electronics market races toward $150 billion by 2030 and the government pumps ₹76,000 crore under the PLI 2.0 scheme, this $11 million rocket signals a pivotal shift: India is no longer just assembling devices—it’s designing tomorrow’s AI-powered gadgets.
Brandworks operates at the intersection of three megatrends: the explosion of AI-enabled consumer devices (smart wearables, home automation, edge AI gadgets), the global supply-chain pivot away from China, and India’s manufacturing moonshot. Its platform combines in-house industrial design, embedded systems, AI/ML integration, and a vetted network of 40+ EMS factories across India, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Clients—spanning homegrown D2C giants to international brands—can now launch sophisticated electronics with 40–60% lower upfront tooling costs and 3x faster time-to-market. The Taiwan design center will house advanced labs for RF, thermal, and AI hardware validation, while the expanded Bengaluru HQ will focus on firmware, edge AI, and sustainability engineering.
“What used to take 24 months and $2–3 million in NRE now happens in under 9 months and under $500K,” says co-founder Arjun Pillai. “We’re democratizing hardware the way Figma democratized design.” The startup has already shipped over 2 million units across wearables, smart home devices, and IoT products, achieving 92% on-time delivery and 4.8/5 client NPS.
The round reflects growing investor appetite for deep-tech hardware plays: Electronics manufacturing services and design startups raised $180 million in 2024–25, up 3.5x YoY. Roha Family Office’s lead investment—its largest single cheque in a startup—underscores confidence in Brandworks’ dual-shore model that keeps IP in India while leveraging Taiwan’s legendary engineering talent. Better Capital’s repeat bet (they led the $2.5M seed) highlights execution traction.
The roadmap is ambitious: hit $50 million ARR by FY27, expand to 200+ factory partners, and launch a proprietary AI hardware reference platform for Indian brands—think Raspberry Pi, but optimized for Indian price points and use cases. The startup also plans to double down on sustainability: 30% of new designs will use recycled ocean plastics and modular architectures by 2027, positioning it for IREDA green bonds.
Challenges remain: Talent war for senior hardware engineers, forex volatility on Taiwan ops, and the perennial “China+1” execution risk. Yet with PLI 2.0 incentives now covering components and the India-Taiwan FTA talks gaining steam, the stars are aligning.
In a country that once imported 95% of its electronics, Brandworks is scripting a different story—one circuit board at a time. $11 million today, billions in designed-in-India devices tomorrow.
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