Bangalore: Helionis Labs, a deep-tech materials startup building next-generation thermal management solutions for high-power electronics, has raised an undisclosed pre-seed funding round from Transition VC.
The company will use the capital to strengthen its materials R&D, expand its engineering team, complete certifications and reliability testing, accelerate OEM prototyping efforts, and set up its pilot manufacturing line.
As modern electronics become increasingly power-dense across sectors such as electric vehicles, telecom infrastructure, industrial systems, and high-performance lighting, thermal management is emerging as one of the most critical engineering challenges globally. Excess heat directly impacts system reliability, efficiency, lifespan, and performance, particularly in high-power applications where conventional thermal substrates often struggle to meet evolving requirements.
At the same time, India’s electronics and advanced manufacturing ecosystem continues to remain heavily dependent on imported thermal materials and substrate technologies.
Helionis Labs is attempting to solve this challenge by building proprietary printable dielectric materials and an additive manufacturing process for producing high-performance Insulated Metal Substrates (IMS). Compared to conventional Metal Core Printed Circuit Boards (MCPCBs), the company’s technology is designed to offer lower thermal resistance, thinner dielectric layers, and lower manufacturing costs.
Founded by materials scientist Tarun Jha, Helionis operates at the intersection of materials science, manufacturing, and high-power electronics. The company is currently focused on applications across industrial lighting, automotive lighting, horticultural systems, EV power electronics, telecom power supplies, and industrial power systems.
Speaking on the development, Tarun Jha, Founder & CEO, Helionis Labs, said, “Heat is one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern electronics — from LED lighting to EV power systems and telecom infrastructure. At Helionis, we started from the materials level and rebuilt the thermal substrate stack around additive manufacturing and proprietary dielectric technology. Our goal is to build advanced thermal management products from India that can compete globally on both performance and cost.”
Speaking on the investment, Raiyaan Shingati, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Transition VC, said: “India builds LED lights, cars, and increasingly power electronics too, but one of the most critical layer inside them, the thermal dielectric, is still imported, mostly from China. Helionis changes that. They have brought the single hardest part of the substrate in-house, printing their own dielectric to deliver around 30% better thermal performance at a lower cost than conventional boards. What excites us is how far this travels: from LED lighting today into EV chargers, motor controllers, and wide-bandgap power systems tomorrow, every one of them starved for better heat management. We backed Helionis because owning the material and the process is a durable advantage.”
Globally, the Insulated Metal Substrate market continues to be dominated by international players such as Henkel/Bergquist, Ventec International Group, and Rogers Corporation, while most Indian manufacturers continue to rely on imported dielectric materials and thermal substrates.
The company believes its differentiation lies in owning both the dielectric material stack and the additive manufacturing process in-house, enabling greater control over performance, scalability, and cost optimisation.