Started as a rental company and now competing with global audio brands, N-Labs has come a long way in a short span of time. Hemal Bhatt, the founder of N-Labs, shares his journey with AV Today in this exclusive podcast. Hemal initially imported speakers from other countries, but soon realized they were not adaptable to Indian weather conditions, which led him to pursue manufacturing and ultimately the birth of N-Labs.
What emerged from our conversation was an explosive masterclass in grit, engineering accountability, and forward-thinking disruption. What happens when a homegrown brand stops merely mimicking foreign competitors and starts building specifically for the extreme demands of the Indian market?
Hemal’s journey didn’t begin in an abstract R&D lab; it was forged in the demanding, unforgiving trenches of the live audio rental industry. After joining his father’s rental business in 2007, he spent years dealing firsthand with local use cases that international gear simply wasn’t designed to handle.
“The temperature and climate here are not what we see in the US or European countries,” Hemal notes. Beyond climate, international brands failed to account for the scalability and rugged durability required for massive Indian roadshows, political rallies, and multi-day weddings. When N-Labs committed entirely to domestic manufacturing during the pandemic, it shifted from 100% imported goods to thriving on localized production across six to seven factories in Gujarat.
But how exactly did N-Labs scale from a 10-to 15-person R&D squad during the COVID lockdown into a national market leader? In the podcast, Hemal breaks down the operational timeline.
While competitive pricing naturally comes with local assembly, Hemal reveals that N-Labs’ real secret weapon is an obsessive focus on aftersales service. To protect system integrators and consultants from client backlash, N-Labs built a support ecosystem capable of a blistering 25- to 30-minute repair turnaround.
Hear the full story in the video about how N-Labs rescued a major Ahmedabad cafe’s massive 24-speaker deployment just hours before its grand inauguration, after an international brand’s design failed.
For systems integrators and AV consultants, the pivotal moment occurred when N-Labs decisively adopted standardized audio ecosystems aligned with and surpassing international benchmarks such as Acoustic Math Precision, IT Network Harmony, End-to-End Ecosystems, and the Ultimate Teaser. N-Labs stands out as the first Indian manufacturer to offer 100% authentic, AFMG-approved GLL data files compatible with full EASE software simulation, enabling precise venue mapping through mathematical accuracy. With the integration of native, certified Audinate Dante networking protocols and AES67 compatibility, N-Lab’s hardware seamlessly connects professional audio with enterprise IT infrastructure. Their range includes network-enabled PoE switches and architectural audio systems, creating a comprehensive, domestically produced infrastructure. The discussion then shifts to the exciting realm of Broadcast AV when Hemal reveals N-Labs’ latest innovation. Unlike most network-enabled AV systems that rely on heavily compressed feeds, Hemal introduces their new Dante AV Ultra integration. This advancement permits broadcasters and premium venues to transmit raw, uncompressed 4K/60fps video over standard network cables with latency under 5 milliseconds. For a detailed demonstration of how this technology enables a single camera stream to be multicast simultaneously to editors, matrix walls, and global broadcasts in real time, watching his full presentation is highly recommended.
As India’s pro AV industry grows, attitudes are evolving. Hemal emphasizes that “Making in India” is now the key to growth. Don’t just rely on the summarized print highlights; experience the technical demos, understand the underlying philosophy, and learn how N-Labs is gearing up for international events like InfoComm and ISE.
