Helionis Labs raises pre-seed from Transition VC for thermal-management materials
What's the deal? Helionis Labs, an Indian startup developing thermal-management materials for high-power electronics, has raised a pre-seed funding round from Transition VCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The deal's financial details remain undisclosed.
Founded by materials scientist Tarun Jha, Helionis is building proprietary dielectric materials and additive manufacturing processes for insulated metal substrates — components that dissipate heat in power-dense systems like LED lighting, EV power electronics, and telecom infrastructure.
The startup plans to use the capital to strengthen R&D, expand its engineering team, complete certifications, accelerate OEM prototyping, and establish a pilot manufacturing line.
Why now? As electronics grow more compact and power-dense, managing heat has become a critical engineering challenge. Excess heat reduces efficiency and shortens product lifespans.
"Heat is one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern electronics, from LED lighting to EV power systems and telecom infrastructure," Jha said. He noted that overheating accounts for a significant share of failures in the lighting industry alone.
Jha's work on the problem stretches back more than a decade. After a master's degree at the University of Florida and stints at US and Indian companies, he set up a bootstrapped lab in 2024 to develop an alternative approach. The company reached a satisfactory product version in 2025 and is now piloting with two to three large LED manufacturers in India.
What could go wrong? Helionis is entering a market dominated by Chinese suppliers. Raiyaan Shingati, co-founder and managing partner at Transition VC, acknowledged that India's thermal dielectric layer is "still imported, mostly from China." Breaking that dependency will require proving both performance and cost competitiveness at scale.
The startup's additive manufacturing approach — depositing materials directly rather than cutting them from larger sheets — is promising but unproven in commercial production. Certifications and real-world reliability testing still lie ahead.
The signal: Helionis sits at the intersection of two powerful trends: the push for domestic manufacturing of critical electronic components in India, and the growing thermal demands of EVs, LEDs, and telecom infrastructure.
According to Jha, the LED substrate market alone is worth roughly ₹4,000 crore in India. The broader opportunity across automotive electronics and EV charging could be far larger. If the startup's technology delivers on its claims of lower thermal resistance, thinner dielectric layers, and reduced manufacturing costs, it could carve out a meaningful niche in a market ripe for localisation.
Read more: entrepreneur.economictimes.indiatimes.com
