By Kavita Mistry 
A few years back, most Indian households viewed robotic vacuum cleaners with curiosity at best and suspicion at worst. They were seen as expensive gadgets that worked well in YouTube videos but struggled with the realities of Indian homes, pets, cables, carpets, and our obsession with spotless floors.
Today, that sentiment is shifting, and few brands capture this turning point better than Dreame. The company entered India only in 2023, and in just a couple of years, it has climbed to the number two spot in robotic vacuums. More importantly, it has sparked new conversations about what a modern cleaning appliance should be capable of.
According to Manu Sharma, who leads Dreame’s India operations, the journey has been “exhilarating”, mostly because India surprised him. He expected a slow build. Instead, he found a market ready to embrace meaningful tech, as long as it genuinely made life easier.
A Robotics Company Disguised as a Cleaning Brand
Dreame began in 2015 with a young engineer experimenting with digital motors. That engineering-first approach still defines the brand. Behind every product are teams working on high-speed motors, fluid mechanics, AI algorithms, and design that blends into modern homes.
Globally, Dreame has earned a reputation for pushing boundaries in consumer robotics. The company claims to have filed more than 6000 patents (with more than 3000 granted) and puts a significant chunk of its revenue back into R&D. “We are more like a tech company, a hardware tech company in the DNA. And that’s what we drive for,” says Manu.
This has led to machines that not only vacuum and mop but also recognize objects, understand stains, avoid pets, dry their own mop pads, and refill water with minimal human intervention. Products like the X40 Ultra essentially run themselves for weeks at a time. “We are a real robotics company. We know what it is,” Manu says, explaining how Dreame’s machines now recognize over 250 household objects with near-perfect accuracy.
Why India Matters More Than It Seems
Despite being a late entrant, India is shaping up to be one of Dreame’s most strategic markets. Not because of sheer volume yet, but because the Indian home presents a set of challenges that push the brand’s innovation even further.
Our cleaning rituals are different. Many families rely on household help. Mopping is non-negotiable. Homes have a mix of surfaces, narrow corners, and everyday clutter. The company quickly realized that its machines, powerful as they were, needed to understand India’s context better.
Manu’s view is refreshingly practical: robots are not here to replace household help. “Most likely, they will end up using the machines themselves,” he says. In many homes, that shift is already visible. Helps use stick vacuums for corners or quick touch-ups. Robots handle the daily dust. Humans supervise.
What used to be a luxury category is slowly becoming a convenience essential for nuclear families, pet parents, and working couples.
Where the Growth Is Coming From
Globally, stick vacuums dominate the cleaning category. As per Dreame, India flips that pattern. Robotic vacuums are leading the growth curve, with cities like Bangalore becoming surprising hotspots.
A big part of this is confidence. The first pandemic wave exposed the limitations of early-generation robots. Many buyers abandoned them. But the new wave of AI-powered machines has changed expectations. They avoid objects, identify stains accurately, clean mop pads, dry them, and work reliably in mixed environments.
Consumers now trust that these devices mostly work as promised. As a result, the market, which was around 150,000 units last year, is expected to touch 225,000 to 250,000 this year. And Manu claims that Dreame already commands more than 20 percent of it.
Building for India, Not Just Selling to India
Dreame’s Indian portfolio currently covers grooming, robot vacuums, stick vacuums, and wet and dry stick models. But the brand has identified one clear insight: Indians take mopping seriously. “One of the rituals which Indians follow is that, unless the mopping is done, the house is not clean. It’s just not about the vacuuming. It’s about the mopping.”
This has pushed the company to double down on wet and dry products like the L10 Prime, which is among its top sellers. Larger water tanks, powerful suction, and automatic mop drying appeal directly to Indian cleaning behaviour. Manu calls these “the first wave” of India-relevant products. The deeper phase, which he refers to as Dreame 2.0, will include more India-specific features and product customization.
The Next Leap: Robots That Do More Than Clean
What makes Dreame especially interesting is the kind of technology it is working on behind the scenes. At global events like IFA 2025, the brand has teased concepts like CyberX, a robot that climbs stairs using a bionic track system, and Cyber10, which uses a robotic arm to pick up objects like socks or toys before vacuuming.
These are early-stage prototypes, but they show where the company thinks home robotics is headed. Manu describes future devices that can reach into corners with different tools, adapt to flooring types, and perform more complex tasks with precision.
It is a glimpse of a home where cleaning assistants behave less like appliances and more like actual robots.
The Tough Part: Service and Repair
For all the excitement around robotics, Manu is very honest about the current limitations in India’s repair ecosystem. These machines are complex, with multiple motors, sensors, fluid systems, and circuit boards.
Dreame tried door-to-door servicing but faced inconsistency in technician skills. The company has now moved to centralized repair hubs, faster turnaround, and stronger remote troubleshooting. Nearly 40 percent of customer issues get resolved over phone calls or guided videos.
Right to repair, which is already a thing in the EU, may come to India in the future, but not before the ecosystem matures enough to handle robotic-grade engineering.
Looking Ahead: Smart Appliances, Offline Stores, and Make in India
Dreame sees smart kitchen appliances as a natural extension for the brand in India. Some of these are already available globally, and the India team is currently evaluating which ones fit local expectations and price points. Made in India production is also on the roadmap once volumes scale up.
To build brand visibility, Dreame is strengthening its offline presence through Croma and experience zones, while also investing in brand building with Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon as ambassador. Manu believes her background as an engineer aligns well with the brand’s identity of intelligent, functional design.
The Road Forward
If the last year has been “exhilarating”, the next five, Mano hopes, will be defined by “innovating for India”. The company’s larger vision is bold: becoming the number one smart home device brand in the country.
Whether that happens next year or a little later, Dreame has already done something rare. It has made robotics feel less futuristic and more like an everyday home companion.
And in a country where cleanliness is as emotional as it is practical, that is no small achievement.