How Oakter is powering India’s shift from importing to inventing smart electronics
Founded in 2014 by Shishir Gupta, Oakter designs and manufactures smart home and connected devices in India, producing up to a million units monthly for consumers and enterprise clients.
For decades, India’s electronics industry was dependent on imports, with most products designed overseas and merely assembled locally. Determined to change this, engineer Shishir Gupta set out to build a company that could design and manufacture smart, reliable electronics in India for the Indian market.
That vision gave rise to Oakter, a Noida-based Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) under Riot Labz Pvt. Ltd., founded in 2014 by IIT Delhi alumni.
“India has always had great engineering talent. But for the longest time, we didn’t build for ourselves. Our goal was to prove that India can design and manufacture complete, world-class electronic products, right here, from concept to scale,” says Gupta.
The startup is a Made-in-India consumer IoT brand that designs and manufactures smart home devices and connected electronics, offering Indian consumers enhanced convenience and digital control over everyday appliances.
“We wanted to show that Indian innovation isn’t just about software, it’s about building robust, globally competitive hardware too,” he adds.
Designing for the Indian consumer
Oakter’s early product lineup included smart plugs, switches, and controllers, which later expanded into Wi-Fi-enabled devices, universal remotes, and mini UPS systems for routers. The guiding philosophy was to create technology that was practical, reliable, and relevant to Indian households.
“We wanted to build devices that made sense in Indian homes, simple to use, reliable to run, and designed for our environment. You can’t just copy what works in other markets. In India, you need to account for voltage fluctuations, heat, dust, and erratic connectivity. True innovation lies in making technology resilient enough to thrive in these real-world conditions,” says Gupta.
Over time, Oakter developed more than 25 consumer IoT products, learning from market feedback to refine its focus. While categories such as Wi-Fi cameras and smart locks were eventually phased out, others, like the Mini UPS for Wi-Fi routers, became category leaders on Amazon.
The startup’s OakRemote smart remote and multi-device GaN chargers further strengthened its foothold in connected home electronics. Its latest innovation, the OakMeter, enables real-time energy monitoring and tamper detection, underlining Oakter’s shift toward smart energy management.
“Our design process always starts with a constraint. We ask ourselves, how do we make this product perform flawlessly in India’s power and connectivity conditions? If it can survive here, it’ll perform anywhere. That discipline is what gives our designs global durability,” he explains.
Engineering foundations
Gupta’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2005 when he and his friends launched an engineering services firm, Mechartés Researchers, at IIT Delhi’s incubation centre. The company specialised in PCB design, electronics, and mechanical systems simulation.
“We were just a handful of engineers trying to solve real technical problems. There was no funding, no marketing plan, just conviction in the power of Indian engineering. We believed that if we could solve complex problems for global clients from our lab in Delhi, we could build anything,” he recalls.
Over the next few years, the firm grew into a profitable enterprise generating Rs 30 crore in annual revenue. By 2013–14, Gupta and his co-founders exited the venture to pursue new opportunities, bringing with them years of product design and systems experience.
That experience laid the groundwork for Oakter, a startup built at the intersection of hardware engineering, design, and manufacturability. As global IoT adoption accelerated, the founders saw an opportunity to design connected devices built specifically for Indian homes, accounting for challenges like inconsistent power, network instability, and affordability.
Pivoting toward B2B manufacturing
A major inflexion point came in 2016, when Oakter partnered with Amazon Alexa during its India launch. While the collaboration was a success, the smart home market was still in its infancy, leading Oakter to re-evaluate its strategy.
By 2018–19, the startup pivoted to B2B manufacturing, leveraging its engineering expertise to serve Indian brands seeking local manufacturing partners. Since then, Oakter has worked with industry leaders like Saregama, Paytm, Sony, and Ola Electric, contributing to iconic products such as Saregama Carvaan and the Paytm Soundbox.
“Before 2020, nearly 95% of India’s electronics were imported from China. That number is now closer to 80–85%. This gradual shift has opened up a huge opportunity for domestic players,” Gupta notes.
“For us, it meant that Indian brands no longer had to depend on overseas vendors; they could get world-class design, tooling, and mass production right here in India,” he adds.
The pandemic further accelerated India’s shift toward domestic production, and Oakter quickly established itself as a trusted partner offering end-to-end design, prototyping, and mass production under one roof.
Scale, infrastructure, and technology
Today, Oakter operates three advanced manufacturing units, two in Noida and one in Alwar, Rajasthan, spanning over 200,000 sq. ft. and housing 25 automated assembly lines.
With a monthly capacity of over 300,000 devices and annual output exceeding 1 crore units, the startup’s scale rivals global peers.
Oakter employs 2,000 people, including 150 R&D engineers, and integrates IoT-based systems across its manufacturing chain for traceability and quality control.
“We’ve built everything internally, from testing infrastructure to cloud-based tracking. Every unit that rolls out of our factory can be traced digitally. That’s the only way to guarantee reliability at scale. In electronics, precision isn’t optional; it’s culture,” shares Gupta.
Its manufacturing expertise spans consumer IoT devices, payment soundboxes, audio systems, energy meters, and battery management systems, catering to both consumer and enterprise markets.
R&D and design philosophy
Research and development form the backbone of Oakter’s operations. Its R&D divisions, covering electronics design, embedded software, and industrial design, work collaboratively to bring a concept from prototype to production over a 6–24 month cycle.
The startup recently acquired a three-acre campus to expand its R&D and production capacity. Upcoming product lines include BLDC ceiling fans, GaN universal chargers, and smart meters, aligning with its vision to drive energy-efficient, connected innovation.
“We design for manufacturability. That means every product we create must be scalable, testable, and repeatable. A good design isn’t one that just works in the lab, it’s one that can be built a million times with the same precision on the factory floor,” says Gupta.
Growth, revenue, and capital efficiency
Oakter’s growth has been both disciplined and consistent. From Rs 50 crore in FY19, the startup doubled to Rs 100 crore in FY21 and reached Rs 500 crore in FY24, recording an annual growth rate of 60–70%.
In its early years, Oakter raised $1 million in 2016 from India Quotient and angel investors, including Vinnie Bawa, but has largely grown through internal accruals.
Today, 80% of its revenue comes from B2B partnerships, while 20% is derived from its direct-to-consumer brand, Oka, which sells smart plugs, chargers, and home automation devices.
“Manufacturing isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You can’t build supply chains and trust overnight. It takes years of consistency to build a culture of quality. We’ve grown patiently, one reliable product at a time, and that’s what has made our foundation unshakeable,” notes Gupta.
The road ahead
India’s smart home devices market, valued at $6.7 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $47.46 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 24.3%, according to Imarc.
Oakter now aims to cross Rs 650 crore in FY26 and Rs 1,000 crore in FY27, with plans for an IPO within two to three years. The company expects its B2C business to grow to nearly half its revenue in the coming years as it expands into smart energy, appliance control, and EV charging categories.
While international operations are currently limited to the Middle East, Oakter plans to expand to the US market post-IPO.
“We’re focused on getting India right first. If you can build reliable systems for a market as complex and diverse as India, with its infrastructure challenges, climate, and user expectations, you can build for any market in the world,” says Gupta.
“Every product we design must solve a real problem for real people. That’s our north star. If we can continue to do that with discipline and integrity, scale and success will follow naturally,” he adds.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan