Light Links raises $6M pre-seed to swap radio for light in critical networks
What's the deal? Light LinksDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has closed $6 million in pre-seed funding to scale production of Wi-OW, its optical wireless technology that transmits data using infrared light instead of radio. Outlander VCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round, with participation from Anorak, Output Capital, Mana, Crosscourt, and other dual-use and defense-tech investors.
What's the endgame? Wi-OW replaces radio with diffused laser light that reflects off walls and ceilings, so it works even when the direct path is blocked. The company reports throughput up to 25 Gbps symmetrical and microsecond-scale round-trip times.
How does it work? The system plugs in like a dongle, uses standard Ethernet, and runs on the same mass-produced components deployed across global fibre networks. Because the light stays inside a room, no outside device can interfere, and each device gets a guaranteed slot to transmit.
Why now? Light Links argues that Wi-Fi and private 5G were built for best-effort traffic, not for robotics and autonomous systems that need answers in milliseconds. It has validated Wi-OW with a Fortune 50 company, where the technology is now replacing Wi-Fi in live operations.
Why it matters for defence: Radio transmissions can reveal location and are vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. Because Wi-OW carries data on light, there is no radio signal to detect or jam, making it low probability of intercept and detection. Light Links is also developing optical identification of friend or foe for drone platforms.
"Light, on the other hand, gives us wireless that performs like a wired connection," said Firouz Vafadari, founder and chief executive officer of Light Links.
The signal: The round sits near the top of its class — larger than roughly 95% of all US telecom seed-stage deals on record. That places an unusual bet on hardware infrastructure at pre-seed, reflecting how deep-pocketed defence-tech capital is chasing communications that don't rely on crowded, detectable radio spectrum.
Read more: morningstar.com
Image credit: Light Links, Inc.
