Is Noise a Chinese Brand?

Noise’s story genuinely mirrors boAt’s in almost every way — two brothers from a small Rajasthan town, an early reliance on Taiwan and China for manufacturing, and a brand that grew popular enough to become a genuine target of the “is it secretly Chinese” question. But there’s a fresh twist here that boAt doesn’t have: in April 2025, Noise was acquired by one of India’s most iconic conglomerates entirely.

The Short Answer

No, Noise is genuinely an Indian company — founded in Gurugram in 2014 by brothers Amit and Gaurav Khatri, and as of April 2025, acquired by Titan Company, one of India’s largest and most established consumer conglomerates.

• Noise’s confusion with Chinese ownership stems entirely from its global manufacturing and component sourcing strategy, a completely standard practice across the consumer electronics industry.
• The company’s branding, product strategy, and business operations have always been controlled from India, regardless of where individual components or assembly happened.
• Noise became the world’s third-largest smartwatch manufacturer in early 2023, trailing only Apple and Samsung — a genuinely remarkable achievement for a company barely seven years old at the time, competing against decade-old rivals.

From Bikaner to a Global Wearables Player

• Founders Amit and Gaurav Khatri grew up in the small town of Bikaner, Rajasthan, and started Noise in 2014 not as a wearables company at all, but as a phone cover business.
• Gaurav’s early fascination with technology — reportedly getting his first iPhone in 2007 through his cousin Amit, who was working in Hong Kong at the time — genuinely shaped the brand’s eventual direction toward consumer tech accessories.
• Noise initially collaborated with tech partners in Taiwan and China to manufacture products, import raw materials, and assemble devices for the Indian market — again, a standard approach for young hardware startups without their own manufacturing infrastructure.
• Their first smartwatch, the U8, launched with poor reviews, facing genuine early product issues like devices “not turning on” — a rocky start the company worked to overcome through iterative improvement.

The Turning Point That Built the Brand

• In 2018, Noise launched the ColorFit and ColorFit Pro smartwatches, which became genuinely popular for their feature set and affordability, marking the company’s real breakthrough moment.
• Revenue grew dramatically — from ₹24 crore in 2018 to ₹49 crore in FY19, and ₹156 crore in FY20 — reflecting rapid, sustained growth well before the company became a household name.
• The COVID-19 pandemic became a genuine turning point, as more people working from home and focusing on personal health drove significant demand for affordable smartwatches specifically.

The Titan Acquisition: A Genuinely Significant Indian Deal

• On April 9, 2025, Noise was acquired by Titan Company, the Tata Group-backed conglomerate best known for Titan watches, Tanishq jewelry, and other major Indian consumer brands.
• This acquisition represents a fully Indian-to-Indian corporate transaction — no foreign or Chinese entity involved at any stage of the deal.
• Prior to the acquisition, Noise had raised roughly $29.7-30 million in funding, including investment from Bose, reflecting genuine international investor confidence in the brand well before Titan’s involvement.
• Noise was headquartered in Gurugram, India, with 587 employees at the time of its most recent reported figures, operating firmly as a private Indian company throughout its history.

Why the “Is Noise Chinese?” Question Keeps Coming Up

• Like boAt, Noise’s reliance on Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturing partners for component sourcing and device assembly has fueled persistent misconceptions among consumers.
• This is standard practice across the wearables industry globally — even premium brands like Apple and Samsung rely heavily on Asian manufacturing infrastructure without it changing their fundamental corporate nationality.
• The distinction that actually matters: intellectual property, brand ownership, design direction, and now corporate control under Titan are all genuinely Indian, regardless of where individual components are sourced or assembled.

The Bottom Line

Noise is genuinely and unambiguously an Indian company — founded by two brothers from Bikaner, Rajasthan, built from a modest phone cover business into the world’s third-largest smartwatch manufacturer, and as of April 2025, acquired entirely by Titan Company, one of India’s most established consumer conglomerates. The persistent confusion around Noise’s nationality stems purely from its use of Taiwan and China-based manufacturing partners during its early growth years, a standard industry practice that never changed the fact that Noise’s ownership, branding, and strategic direction have always been rooted in India, and are now backed by one of the country’s most trusted business houses.

FAQs

Q1. Does Titan’s acquisition of Noise mean the brand will change its name or positioning?

No public reports indicate any rebranding plans, with Noise continuing to operate under its established identity in the Indian market.

Q2. Why did Noise rely on Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers if it’s an Indian company?

Like most hardware startups without their own factories, Noise used established Asian manufacturing partners for cost-effective production and assembly.

Q3. Is Noise still India’s top-selling wearables brand after the Titan acquisition?

Noise remains a leading player in India’s smartwatch and earbuds segment, with Titan’s backing expected to strengthen its market position further.

Q4. Did any foreign investors hold significant ownership in Noise before the Titan deal?

Noise raised roughly $30 million including investment from Bose, though founders and Indian stakeholders retained primary ownership before the 2025 acquisition.