Resilience in Action: Velmenni, Canvaloop, and Zoomies Lead a Diverse Week for Indian Startup Funding

In a startup ecosystem often defined by headlines about mega-rounds and unicorn valuations, it’s the steady drumbeat of early-stage innovation that truly builds the future. The past week offered a perfect illustration of this truth, with three distinct startups from three very different sectors announcing fresh capital infusions.

From a deep-tech company using light to transmit data, to a sustainable textile innovator turning agricultural waste into fabric, to a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand redefining pet nutrition, the diversity of ideas finding investor backing is a powerful signal of the ecosystem’s maturity and resilience.

Here’s a closer look at Velmenni, Canvaloop, and Zoomies—the startups that raised funds, the investors backing them, and what they plan to build next.

Velmenni: Lighting the Way for Wireless Communication

The Company
Delhi-based deep-tech startup Velmenni is solving one of the most persistent challenges in telecommunications: how to deliver high-speed, reliable connectivity in places where fibre optics are impractical or radio waves are unreliable .

Founded in 2012 by Deepak Solanki and incubated at IIIT-Delhi, Velmenni has developed patented Free Space Optics (FSO) and Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) solutions . Instead of relying on traditional radio frequencies, the technology uses light beams to transmit data through the air, offering speeds of over 10 Gbps across distances of 1 to 25 km . This creates a secure, interference-proof communication channel ideal for telecom backhaul, defence applications, and enterprise networks .

The Funding
Velmenni raised ₹30 crore (approximately $3.3 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by pi Ventures . The round also saw participation from MountTech Growth Fund-Kavachh and Apekso .

The Use of Funds
The fresh capital will be deployed to accelerate the commercialisation of its FSO and Li-Fi solutions . The company also plans to invest in building customised solutions for strategic defence and enterprise clients, while simultaneously scaling its presence in international markets .

Why It Matters
Velmenni is not a new entrant; it has been quietly building for over a decade. The startup has already executed over 50 live deployments in India, Southeast Asia, and with Tier-1 telcos in the US . Crucially, it has secured a multi-million-dollar deal from the Indian defence sector to deploy its FSO solution across all Indian submarines, solving critical connectivity challenges in harbour environments .

It has also deployed India’s first commercial carrier-grade FSO backhaul link to enable a private 5G network at a GMR thermal power plant in Odisha, maintaining 99.9% availability for over 18 months in challenging tropical weather conditions . With an international patent portfolio and grants from the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX programme, Velmenni is a prime example of deep-tech innovation with real-world, mission-critical applications .

Canvaloop: Weaving Sustainability from Waste

The Company
Surat-based Canvaloop is tackling one of the textile industry’s most significant environmental challenges: pollution from raw material production. Founded in 2020 by Shreyans Kokra, the startup has developed proprietary, low-impact technology to transform agricultural waste into high-performance, spinnable textile materials .

Its product range includes fibers made from hemp, flax, banana, nettle, and pineapple—branded as HempLoop, FlaxLoop, BanLoop, NettleLoop, and PineLoop . Crucially, these materials are engineered for “adoption-first” compatibility, meaning they can be processed using existing textile mills without requiring expensive retrofitting .

The Funding
Canvaloop raised ₹13.3 crore (approximately $1.4 million) in a round led by Gujarat-based venture capital firm GVFL, which invested ₹10 crore . Mumbai-based Rockstud Capital infused the remaining ₹3.3 crore .

The Use of Funds
The funding will be used to drive significant growth, including boosting production capacity from 30 tonnes to 300 tonnes per month . The company will also focus on assembling an elite team and pioneering regenerative cellulose R&D to further its mission of making eco-friendly materials mainstream and commercially viable .

Why It Matters
Canvaloop addresses a critical pain point in the global fashion industry’s journey toward net zero, which increasingly focuses on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from fiber and raw material production . The startup’s climate-friendly, closed-loop process eliminates the use of solvents, recycles water, and utilizes bio-waste as a heat source .

Having already served over 200 clients and generated revenue, Canvaloop has validated its commercial viability . It targets the mass-premium and luxury segments, offering consistent, cost-effective quality. The investment from GVFL, a pioneer in Gujarat’s venture capital scene, underscores the strategic fit and the potential for Canvaloop to scale from a local innovator to a global supply chain backbone for sustainable materials .

Zoomies: Serving Up Clean-Label Nutrition for Pets

The Company
Pune-based Zoomies is a fresh entrant in India’s rapidly growing pet food market. Founded in September 2025 by Sumedh Battewar (former co-founder and CBO at EMotorad) and Spriha Choubey, the startup aims to build a nutrition-first pet food brand .

Zoomies offers complete pet meals made from 100% real, human-grade meat, free from additives, preservatives, and synthetic supplements . Despite the premium quality, the company is focused on maintaining mass-market pricing and offers a shelf life of up to 18 months .

The Funding
Zoomies raised ₹5 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by D2C Insider Super Angels . The round saw participation from a stellar lineup of founders and operators, including Pallavi Mohadikar, Unacademy co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, and Astrotalk CEO Puneet Gupta .

The Use of Funds
The fresh capital will be deployed to strengthen manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, scale brand-building initiatives (including influencer-led campaigns), and expand distribution across quick-commerce platforms . The company plans a pan-India rollout through its D2C channels and Amazon, with expansion into Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai .

Why It Matters
The Indian pet food market is growing at nearly double the rate of the broader FMCG sector, driven by increasing pet humanization and demand for better nutrition . However, much of the market is dominated by ultra-processed products with limited ingredient transparency. Zoomies aims to fill this gap by offering clean-label, transparent, and affordable options .

The company’s commitment to transparency includes a QR code on each product pack linked to lab reports, ensuring quality assurance . As Chhavi Bhardwaj Kargaonkar, Partner at D2C Insider Super Angels, noted, “In a pet nutrition category screaming for innovation, they’re poised to scale clean-label solutions that redefine D2C for pet parents in India” .

The Bigger Picture: Diversity as a Strength

The simultaneous funding of Velmenni, Canvaloop, and Zoomies is more than just a coincidence. It is a snapshot of the Indian startup ecosystem at a fascinating juncture.

• Deep-Tech Excellence: Velmenni represents the deep scientific and engineering prowess being built in India, tackling hard infrastructure problems with patented, Made-in-India technology that has global relevance and strategic national importance .
• Sustainable Innovation: Canvaloop embodies the shift toward a circular economy, proving that sustainability and commercial viability can go hand in hand. By adding value to agricultural waste, it creates impact for both farmers and the environment .
• Consumer-Centric D2C: Zoomies highlights the continued energy in the D2C space, where founders with deep category expertise are building brands that resonate with the evolving aspirations of Indian consumers—in this case, treating pets as family .

Together, they demonstrate that investor confidence in early-stage, innovation-driven ventures remains strong, even in a global environment of moderated funding. Founders with differentiated products, scalable models, and a clear understanding of their market continue to attract capital .

The Final Word

This week’s funding activity is a powerful reminder that India’s startup story is not monolithic. It is a story of photons and fibers, of submarines and soil, of pets and the people who love them.

It is a story of resilience, diversity, and the relentless pursuit of solving meaningful problems. And if the past week is any indication, the next chapter will be even more exciting.