Telecom Startup Wiom Raises INR 140 Cr Series A Funding Led By RTP Global

Delhi-based telecom startup Wiom has raised INR 140 Cr ($17.1 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by RTP Global.

YourNest, Omidyar Network India, Global Brain, Blume Founders Fund, Alteria Capital, Stride Ventures, Stride One and 9 Unicorns also participated in the round.

With the fresh capital, Wiom will focus on expanding its footprint to cities throughout India while investing in high-quality talent and distributed delivery architecture.

Founded by Satyam Darmora, Nishit Aggarwal, Ashutosh Mishra, and Maanas Dwivedi in 2015, Wiom provides affordable and unlimited internet to middle and lower-middle income households through its platform-led distribution model using PM-WANI framework, launched by the Government of India.

“Air, Water, Food and Internet are the new essentials of modern life. Every individual in our country must be able to afford 24/7 unlimited Internet. Using cutting edge technological disruptions, Wiom paves the way for a future where connectivity knows no boundaries, where dreams can be realised, and where every Indian can harness the transformative power of the internet,” Satyam Darmora, founder of Wiom said.

Wiom claims to have surpassed a user base of over 3 lakh in Delhi alone. The startup aims to reach more than 15 Cr users in the next five years. The startup said it provides unlimited internet service without charging any upfront costs, starting from just INR 10.

Nishit Garg, partner, RTP Global said, “We’ve always believed in companies that are able to build India specific business models. With the home broadband penetration in the country at a meagre 10% odd; we believe Wiom is uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity. They have innovated across the value chain and are seeing tremendous traction already.”

Last year, Wiom raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round led by YourNest and 9 Unicorn.

Despite Jio revolutionising internet usage in India, fixed broadband penetration in India still remains very low. As of April 2023, India had just 33.89 Mn wired broadband subscribers compared to 817.04 Mn wireless broadband subscribers, according to the latest subscriber report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

WIOM, standing at a sweet spot, has raised the capital at a time when the total funding raised by Indian startups declined 78.5% year-on-year (YoY) to $580.18 Mn in June 2023. The number of deals also fell 25% to 94 during the month, according to Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report H1 2023’ report.