Funding shortfall sinks Edinburgh tech pioneer

pureLiFi Limited, the Edinburgh-based developer of light-based wireless communications technology, entered administration on 31 August 2026 after running out of cash and failing to secure the additional investment required to reach profitability.

Kenny Craig and Kevin Mapstone of BTG were appointed joint administrators by the company’s directors. All 42 employees at the business were made redundant following the appointment.

Founded in 2012 as a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh, pureLiFi developed technology that uses light to transmit wireless data as an alternative to traditional WiFi and other radio-frequency communications. The company was founded by Professor Harald Haas, who coined the term LiFi and remained a director of the business.

The company is understood to have raised more than £35 million from investors, funds and banks during its 14-year history. However, Thomas McKay, managing partner of BTG in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said the business exhausted its available cash before it was able to become profitable.

BTG said pureLiFi’s financial difficulties were compounded by a strategic move away from licensing its patented technology to third-party manufacturers and toward manufacturing its own hardware. The change proved more expensive than anticipated, leaving the company requiring further capital to fund continuing losses.

By the end of the second quarter of 2026, the business had run out of cash and was seeking new investment. When additional funding could not be secured, the directors appointed administrators to prevent liabilities from continuing to increase.

The administrators will now seek to identify and realise the company’s assets for the benefit of creditors, with particular focus on pureLiFi’s intellectual property portfolio developed over more than a decade of research and commercialisation.

BTG is also assisting former employees with access to redundancy entitlements and support.