From Mumbai chawl to Rs 1,300 crore Atomberg: IIT Bombay grad Manoj Meena rejected ISRO job to chase his…

As per the latest business developments, For IIT Bombay graduate Manoj Meena, a secure career at ISRO could have been the natural next step after engineering. Instead, he chose to pursue an uncertain entrepreneurial journey that began in a cramped chawl in Mumbai and eventually led to the creation of Atomberg Technologies, a consumer technology firm with topline of nearly Rs 1,300 crore.

Meena, who holds a dual degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialisation in communication and signal processing from IIT Bombay, started working on his entrepreneurial ambitions after graduation. His decision, that stated, was not immediately welcomed at home.

"I got placed, by the way, in ISRO… my parents were very happy. I lied to them that I got an extension and I can join back after one year," Meena stated in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

That one year turned into a much longer entrepreneurial experiment. Between 2012 and 2015, Meena and his co-founder Sibabrata Das worked through five or six business ideas, most of which failed to gain traction.

The eventual breakthrough came from something far more ordinary.

During one Sunday afternoon at their Powai chawl, the two engineers were looking at a ceiling fan and began discussing why there had been so little technological innovation in a product used in millions of Indian homes.

For Meena, the problem was additionally personal. He has written that growing up in rural Rajasthan, he had noted how unreliable access to electricity could be. That experience strengthened his interest in developing energy-efficient products.

The founders decided to focus on ceiling fans powered by Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors. The technology offered significantly better energy efficiency than conventional induction-motor fans, but building such a product for the Indian market came with its own challenges.

Atomberg eventually developed the 28-watt Gorilla fan. Priced at more than Rs 3,500, it was considerably more expensive than many conventional fans, making consumer adoption an important challenge.

Yet the firm began finding its market. By FY18, Atomberg was anticipated to sell around one lakh fans, according to Das, who joined Meena in 2013 and focused on scaling the business.

Building the product was only one part of the challenge. Atomberg additionally had to develop a manufacturing ecosystem capable of supporting its technology, as existing suppliers could not meet all of its requirements.

Meena says his approach has remained rooted in engineering and solving everyday problems. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes his philosophy as an "India-first engineering" approach and says his aim has been to build Atomberg as a technology platform rather than a single-category brand.

That strategy has since taken the firm beyond ceiling fans. Its consumer portfolio now includes mixer grinders, water purifiers and other kitchen appliances, while its B2B arm, AIPL, works on technologies involving efficient motors, drives and control systems.

Meena has described the larger ambition as making India a technology powerhouse.

"Whatever we have created so far, it is really important to take it to the next level… our Y part is that we definitely want to make India a powerhouse of technology," he stated in the CNBC-TV18 interview.

Atomberg's expansion has accelerated in recent years. Its topline from operations rose 34.8% to Rs 1,293.8 crore in FY26 from Rs 959.5 crore in FY25. The firm had noted topline of Rs 797 crore in FY24.

That stated, elevated topline has not yet translated into profitability. Atomberg's total expenses increased 30.6% to Rs 1,460 crore in FY26 from Rs 1,118.1 crore a year earlier.

The firm noted a total loss of Rs 148.9 crore in FY26, up 26.8% from Rs 117.4 crore in FY25. Its loss stood at Rs 199.1 crore in FY24. The firm's operating cash flow additionally turned negative in FY26.

The next phase of Atomberg's journey could take the firm to the public markets. The firm is looking to mobilize Rs 450 crore through a fresh offering, while existing market participants are seeking to sell up to 7.65 crore shares through an offer for sale.

What began with two IIT Bombay engineers experimenting with failed ideas in Mumbai has as a result evolved into a technology-led consumer business approaching Rs 1,300 crore in annual topline.