Aman Gupta Launches OffBeat Studios After Stepping Down From boAt

Aman Gupta, the man who turned boAt into India’s most recognizable audio and wearables brand, is back with a fresh mission. On March 3, Gupta officially announced the launch of OffBeat Studios, a brand-new venture that signals his return to active entrepreneurship after stepping down from daily operations at the IPO-bound company. The announcement, made through a post on X, has already sent ripples across India’s startup ecosystem.

“With every birthday, some grow older, I grow bolder. I am still hungry, still impatient and still driven. Aman 2.0 begins soon,” Gupta wrote alongside a stylised OFF/BEAT logo. The post didn’t reveal much about the venture’s direction, but the confidence behind it was unmistakable.

What Is OffBeat Studios? Details Remain Scarce

For now, OffBeat Studios is mostly a name and a logo. Gupta has kept his cards close to his chest, choosing not to disclose the business model, sector focus, funding structure, or team behind this new startup. There’s no clarity yet on whether it will operate in consumer electronics, content, lifestyle, or something else entirely.

What’s also unclear is whether OffBeat Studios will carry any strategic link to boAt, or whether Gupta intends this to be a completely independent, founder-led venture. Given his track record of building a household brand from the ground up, investors and industry watchers are paying close attention.

Why Aman Gupta’s Move Matters for India’s Startup Scene

Gupta isn’t just another cofounder making a quiet exit. He shaped boAt’s entire brand identity, from catchy marketing campaigns to aggressive celebrity endorsements. His fingerprints are all over the company’s rise from a bootstrapped audio startup to a multi-thousand crore consumer electronics powerhouse.

Then came Shark Tank India. Gupta’s stint as a judge made him arguably the most recognized startup personality in the country. Millions of young Indians watched him grill founders and write cheques on national television. That kind of personal brand equity doesn’t fade overnight, and whatever OffBeat Studios turns out to be, it already has a massive spotlight waiting.

Gupta is not the only high-profile founder making a second bet. Recently, Urban Ladder’s founder also launched a new startup called Optimist, showing a growing trend of seasoned entrepreneurs re-entering the ring with fresh ideas.

Leadership Transition at boAt: From Founder-Led to Professional Management

Gupta’s launch of OffBeat Studios didn’t happen in a vacuum. It follows a deliberate leadership transition at boAt that has been unfolding since September 2025. Gupta moved into a non-executive director role on the board, while cofounder Sameer Mehta took on the position of executive director focused on strategy. The company also brought in Gaurav Nayyar as its new chief executive officer.

This restructuring represented a classic growth-stage shift. boAt was preparing for a public listing, and that meant building the governance framework that institutional investors and regulators expect.

boAt IPO Update: SEBI Approval, Valuation, and Second Attempt

The timing of Gupta’s announcement coincides with a critical chapter in boAt’s own story. Its parent company, Imagine Marketing, has already received SEBI approval for an initial public offering. Backed by Warburg Pincus, the IPO-bound firm confidentially filed its papers in April 2025 and followed up with an updated draft red herring prospectus in October for a ₹1,500 crore offering.

The proposed IPO includes a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹500 crore and an offer for sale of ₹1,000 crore from existing investors. Mehta and Gupta together plan to offload shares worth ₹300 crore in the OFS, with Fireside and Qualcomm accounting for the rest.

This is actually boAt’s second run at going public. The first attempt came in January 2022, when the company filed draft papers for a ₹2,000 crore IPO. That plan was shelved after market volatility made the timing unfavorable. Reports now suggest the company may have once again paused its listing timeline to reassess market conditions.

With the Union Budget 2026 introducing a dedicated SME growth fund, the broader funding environment could play a role in when boAt finally goes ahead with its listing.

boAt’s Financial Snapshot: Return to Profitability

On the financial front, boAt has been telling a recovery story. After posting a net loss of ₹73.7 crore in FY24, the company swung to a net profit of ₹60.4 crore in FY25. Revenue held steady at ₹3,073.3 crore. The momentum carried into Q1 FY26, where boAt posted a profit of ₹21.4 crore against an operating revenue of ₹628.1 crore, a clear improvement over the ₹31.1 crore loss in the same quarter a year earlier.

What’s Next for Aman Gupta and OffBeat Studios?

Nobody outside Gupta’s inner circle knows what OffBeat Studios will become. But the entrepreneurial instinct that built boAt into a brand worth thousands of crores is clearly alive. Gupta has proven he can take an idea, wrap it in sharp branding, and push it into the mainstream faster than most founders dream.

For India’s startup community, this is a story worth watching. Whether OffBeat Studios enters consumer tech, media, or D2C retail, it arrives with a founder who already knows how to build something people care about. With New Delhi alone home to hundreds of fast-growing startups, the ecosystem Gupta is stepping back into is more competitive and more exciting than ever.

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Author

Sachin

Sachin Sidharth is a Digital Marketing professional with a master’s degree in Digital Marketing from Coventry University, UK. He has 10+ years of blogging and online marketing experience. He currently heads Digital Acquisition for a leading London-based Fintech firm. At KnowStartup.com He focuses on writing Digital Marketing guides and manages...