Velmenni Secures ₹30 Crore (£2.4 million) Pre-Series A Funding to Scale Light-Based Wireless Tech
Image credit to ETEntrepreneur
By LiFi Tech News Team
The transition of light-based wireless communication from a promising laboratory concept to a real-world commercial powerhouse has just taken a significant leap forward. Deep-tech startup Velmenni has successfully raised ₹30 crore (over £2.4 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round, signalling a major vote of investor confidence in the future of Light Fidelity (LiFi) and Free Space Optics (FSO).
Led by pi Ventures, with strategic participation from MountTech Growth Fund-Kavachh and Apekso, this capital injection is earmarked to accelerate the commercialisation of Velmenni’s innovative technologies. As the company eyes rapid expansion across telecom, defence, and enterprise markets globally, the implications of this growth echo far beyond the startup itself, it marks a pivotal maturation point for the entire optical wireless communication (OWC) sector.
A Decade of R&D Meets Commercial Scale
Founded by Deepak Solanki, Velmenni has spent years quietly building a robust intellectual property portfolio around light-based data transmission. Unlike traditional Wi-Fi, 4G, or 5G that rely on increasingly congested radio frequencies, Velmenni uses light to transmit data through the air, delivering fibre-like speeds over distances ranging from 1 to 25 kilometres.
According to Solanki, the market is now catching up to the science. “Over the last one and a half years, we have started seeing strong interest from customers globally,” he noted.
The startup has already proven its mettle with over 50 live deployments across India, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Its product line strategically targets two massive infrastructure bottlenecks:
Telecom Backhaul: Allowing operators to connect cell towers with high-speed, laser-based communication, bypassing the bandwidth limitations of microwave radio links and the prohibitive costs of laying physical fiber.
Last-Mile Connectivity: Enabling internet service providers to deliver high-speed broadband directly to buildings without the need for complex, disruptive cable installations.
Real-World Validation: From 5G to Submarines
Velmenni’s recent milestones demonstrate the diverse applicability of OWC. The company recently deployed India’s first commercial carrier-grade FSO backhaul links to support a private 5G network at a GMR thermal power plant in Odisha.
Perhaps even more notably, the technology's security and reliability have attracted the defense sector. Velmenni has secured a multi-million-dollar order to deploy specialised optical communication systems for Indian submarines, solving complex connectivity challenges in harbor environments where traditional RF signals fall short or pose security risks.
Furthermore, the company is actively conducting pilots with Tier-1 telecom operators in the US, positioning itself as a serious global contender in wireless infrastructure.
What This Means for the LiFi and FSO Industry
Velmenni’s successful funding round and aggressive deployment strategy highlight several critical shifts for the broader LiFi and FSO industry:
1. The End of the "Lab Phase" For years, LiFi and FSO have been viewed by some skeptics as futuristic technologies largely confined to academic papers and controlled R&D environments. Velmenni’s 50+ live deployments and backing by institutional investors like pi Ventures prove that the technology is ready for prime time. As Shubham Sandeep, partner at pi Ventures, stated, Velmenni has "demonstrated the ability to translate a new technology into real-world commercial deployments."
2. A Vital Tool for 5G and 6G Rollouts As telecom operators push the boundaries of 5G and look toward 6G, the demand for high-capacity backhaul is skyrocketing. Traditional microwave links are hitting their bandwidth ceilings, and laying fiber everywhere is simply too expensive and logistically challenging. Velmenni’s success highlights that the telecom industry is finally embracing optical wireless as a mandatory alternative to bridge the infrastructure gap.
3. Defense Adoption Paves the Way for Enterprise Trust Historically, rigorous adoption by defense and military sectors has been the ultimate crucible for emerging connectivity tech (as seen with GPS and the early internet). Velmenni’s submarine contract validates the unmatched security and low-interference benefits of light-based communication. This high-stakes validation will likely accelerate enterprise and commercial adoption, as corporate clients will trust a technology robust enough for naval operations.
4. Shifting Investor Sentiment Raising ₹30 crore in the current macroeconomic climate is a strong indicator that venture capital is waking up to the financial viability of OWC. As Velmenni uses this capital to scale international operations, it establishes a benchmark and paves the way for other LiFi and FSO startups to secure the funding necessary to innovate and grow.
The Road Ahead
Velmenni’s trajectory is a clear indicator that the era of relying solely on radio frequencies is coming to a close. By successfully positioning light-based wireless as a practical, high-speed, and secure alternative to fibre and microwave links, Velmenni is not just scaling its own business, it is actively lighting the path forward for the entire LiFi ecosystem.
