Sector Briefing · India
Communications
Data as of 12 Oct 2026Methodology
Communications is an emerging frontier within India’s deep-tech landscape, defined by concentrated work on next-generation wireless systems including 5G NR, beamforming, and sidelink protocols. Teams are focused on foundational problems in video coding and compression alongside precise wireless and sidelink positioning and resource allocation. The sector is underpinned by substantial intellectual property activity and a notable presence of foreign patent filers, signalling global relevance.
India has 292 communications startups mapped; 56,841 patent applications analysed, of which 21,593 are granted; 1,393 foreign filers are active in the sector.
- Startups:
- 292
- Patents:
- 56,841
- Granted:
- 21,593
- Foreign share:
- 62%
- Inventors:
- 58,064
- In opposition window:
- 3,803
Why this page exists - and how to read it
A one-page brief of this sector: its filing trend, the problems being worked on, the technologies in play, who files most, foreign interest, and a sample of the startups we've mapped to it. Each panel is a door - most drill into a fuller view.
- Investors
- Read the trend and foreign share first - momentum plus outside interest - then scan the roster for patent-backed startups.
- Founders & operators
- The problems list is a whitespace map: crowded themes are validated demand, thin ones are open ground.
- Corporate & R&D
- Top filers and technologies show who to benchmark and where the sector is consolidating.
- Policy & TTO
- The domestic-vs-foreign filing split signals where Indian players lead - and where outside applicants dominate.
292
Startups
56,841
Patents
21,593
Granted
1,393
Foreign filers
58,064
Inventors
Who's filing
Indian companies lead - institutes & foreign kept separate
- QUALCOMM INCORPORATEDIN · 2,272
- JIO PLATFORMSIN · 1,144
- NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OYIN · 246
- STERLITE TECHNOLOGIESIN · 177
- Individual / Self-FilerIN · 147
- BLUEST METTLE SOLUTIONSIN · 128
Educational institutes (6) - ranked by grant rate (share of filings granted, sample-adjusted), not filing volume
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BOMBAY32 of 40 granted
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PATNA26 of 31 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HYDERABAD36 of 52 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI41 of 64 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS76 of 135 granted
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KANPUR15 of 18 granted
Foreign applicants - 62% of filings
- QUALCOMMUS · 9,787
- SAMSUNG ELECTRONICSKR · 4,106
- HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIESCN · 3,901
- NOKIA TECHNOLOGIESFI · 2,614
- BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARECN · 2,191
- TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON PUBLSE · 1,978
Filing trend
Chart starts at 2022 - earlier years reflect granted-only survivorship, not full filing volume.
View data
| Year | Domestic | Foreign | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 797 | 7679 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2023 | 6931 | 34 |
| 2024 | 1943 | 7930 | 7176 |
| 2025 | 2245 | 7757 | 3740 |
| 2026 | 2094 | 2607 | 2949 |
Capital in this sector
Web-sourced funding across the deep-tech startups we track - a snapshot, not a time series
24
Funded startups
~$75.8M
Total raised
~$3.9M
Median raise
4 / 0
Series A / B+
Notable funded startups
10 raised at seed / pre-Series A. Funding is from public sources and may contain errors - verify before relying on it. Company details, funding, stage, investors and brand names here are AI-matched to public web sources - not human-verified. Coverage is incomplete and some records may be matched to the wrong company. Treat as a directional starting point, verify before relying on any figure, and note the platform takes no responsibility for errors.
Problems being solved
Patents mapped · click to see the filers
Technologies in play
Patents mapped
| Label | Patents |
|---|---|
| Wireless Communication | 2,2834% |
| Video Coding | 2,0814% |
| 5G NR | 1,8393% |
| Beamforming | 1,1802% |
| Machine Learning | 1,0632% |
| Sidelink | 9622% |
| Resource Allocation | 9032% |
| Carrier Aggregation | 8972% |
| 5G | 8431% |
| Sidelink Communication | 8281% |
| Beam Management | 7841% |
| Downlink Control Information (Dci) | 7051% |
| Network Slicing | 6511% |
| MIMO | 6501% |
| User Equipment (Ue) | 6131% |
| User Equipment | 5911% |
| Wireless Communications | 4661% |
| Discontinuous Reception (Drx) | 4651% |
| Dual Connectivity | 4571% |
| IoT | 4491% |
| Base Station | 4481% |
| Random Access Procedure | 4301% |
| 5G Core Network | 4001% |
| Handover | 3861% |
| Sounding Reference Signal (Srs) | 3721% |
| Reference Signals | 3621% |
| OFDM | 3521% |
| Channel Estimation | 3511% |
| Harq | 3431% |
| Dci | 3371% |
Problems and technologies are grouped from each patent's text by AI, so treat the buckets as a map of what the sector works on - not an exact count. Open a bucket to see the filings behind it.
Where startups are mapped
| State | Startups mapped |
|---|---|
| Karnataka | 58 |
| Delhi | 49 |
| Maharashtra | 44 |
| Tamil Nadu | 29 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 27 |
| Telangana | 19 |
| Haryana | 18 |
| Gujarat | 8 |
| Kerala | 8 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 7 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 4 |
| Bihar | 4 |
When these companies were incorporated
199 companies with a company-register match, 94 of them with matched IP. Open a year to see the companies founded in it.
Incorporation dates come from the MCA register, which we have matched for about 69% of the deep-tech base - so this is the shape of the cohort, not a census of it. It is also not the DPIIT recognition date, which can be years later.
Startups · 15 of 292
Classified into Communications by their primary technology focus (shown under each name). IP chips count a company's total matched patents, designs and trademarks - across all sectors.
WISIG NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED
Telecommunication & Networking
WiSig Networks is an upcoming Indian Startup engaged in developing 5G Mobile Communications Products and Solutions. Presently, WiSig Networks is offering 3GPP 5G NR Release 15 PHY and Protocol Stack. We are working with leading industry players to push our 5G Massive MIMO and m
Hyderabad
HNNOIX INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
Telecommunication & Networking
HNNOIX India Private Limited (www.hnnoix.com), is a startup company focused on driving innovation across the economy sectors, focusing on the engineering, healthcare, agriculture and public areas with 5G/6G 3GPP standardization in the telecom technology sector. Led by experienced
Gurugram
NEVO MOBILES PRIVATE LIMITED
Technology Hardware
Our plan is to provide superior quality smartphones, accessories, wearable products, and services that are made in India. We also intend to radically change the consumer buying experience and after-sales service.
Mumbai
RED BRICK LANE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED
Advertising
We are India's largest media consumption repository and audience targeting platform.
Bengaluru Urban
SILVEREDGE TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Analytics
Yet to be updated
Gurugram
UNMIXED TECHNOWORLD PRIVATE LIMITED
Technology Hardware
We want to create devices and gadgets that have seamless & uninterrupted connectivity for everyone, regardless of location. We aim to bridge the digital divide and ensure that every individual has access to reliable, high-speed connectivity, transforming the way people live, work
Bengaluru Urban
OMNIA INFORMATION PRIVATE LIMITED
Others
Yet to be defined.
South West Delhi
MRINQ TECHNOLOGIES LLP
Technology Hardware
The entire world is moving towards LED lights for Home, Industry and Outdoor lighting requirements. The existing lighting control and automation products in the market were designed for conventional lighting consisting mainly of Incandescent and Fluorescent lights. These solution
South Goa
PANTHERUN TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Telecommunication & Networking
One of the gravest challenges being faced in the world is the impact hacking and stealing of data is having. As people, governments, organisations, companies … become more and more reliant on IT with systems like IOT, that depend on 4G/5G, Ethernet, Wi-Fi or other means of bein
Bengaluru Urban
R2E TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
Professional & Commercial Services
R2E Technologies Private Limited is a R&D driven research consultancy Startup recognised by DPIIT and Uttarakhand Startup Council, with a vision to provide best technical services in the domain of Education, Research, Engineering, and Environment. With a team of having expertis
Pauri Garhwal
PERSEI SOLUTIONS (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED
IT Services
PERSEI SOLUTIONS (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED is a dynamic technology company focused on providing innovative IT solutions to businesses and individuals. We specialize in offering consultancy, software development, system integration, and IT infrastructure management services. Our missi
Pune
LEXANALYTICO CONSULTING PRIVATE LIMITED
Professional & Commercial Services
About LexAnalytico
Bengaluru Urban
Deskotel communications Pvt. Ltd
Telecommunication & Networking
Cloudytel is India’s open cloud voice communication platform. As a Cloud Telephony company, our aim is to redefine business communications through excellent Cloud-based telephony solutions. Our wide ranges of products, ensuring our clients have access to the latest cloud teleph
Noida
IVISHAI QUANTUM PRIVATE LIMITED
AI
IvishAI Quantum Private Limited is a DPIIT-recognized deep-tech startup building VerbX — the world's first Language Communication Operating System. Where others build translation tools, we built an OS-level platform: offline-first, emotion-aware, institutionally secure, and des
Hyderabad
SMOOTH TAG TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
AI
India's first live-streaming commerce platform for an "Assisted shopping" experience powered by AI.
Indore
Deep-tech basis: site-backed (own website fetched and read), IP-backed (patent or design filed in its own name), web-backed (described elsewhere on the open web), registry only (registry description alone). How this is decided
See all 292 mapped startups
Full rosters and startup profiles come with a subscription.
Showing 15 of 292.
Briefings on this sector
funding brief
Space Took a Quarter of the RDI Fund's First Approvals. AI Took ₹3 Crore.
We set TDB's first 22 RDI approvals against where India's deep-tech companies and patent filings are. Space took a quarter of the money from 2% of the companies on our list. AI took 0.1%. Karnataka sent nearly a third of the proposals; Gujarat sent four.
funding brief
The RDI Fund Pays Half. How Many Indian Deeptech Companies Can Raise the Other Half?
The ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund will finance no more than half of a project; the company must find the rest. The first 22 approvals needed a median ₹101 crore each from their own or private sources. In the past year, 47 deep-tech companies on our list closed a private round of ₹100 crore or more.
funding brief
The RDI Fund's First 22 Companies: ₹2,192 Crore Approved, ₹376 Crore Paid
The Technology Development Board, the first manager to lend from India's ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund, has approved 22 companies for ₹2,192 crore against projects worth ₹4,744 crore. By 30 September it had paid ten of them ₹375.69 crore. Here is the full list, what each is building, and what our data says about them.
tech brief
India Shut Chinese Vendors Out of Its Telecom Networks. The Components Inside Didn't Change.
India's trusted-source rules cut China to 13% of finished telecom equipment. But 52% of the parts inside that equipment are still Chinese, and 82% of 2024's communications patents are foreign-filed.