Solinas Integrity has secured $5.5 million (approximately Rs 48 crore) in fresh funding to scale its robotics-driven water and wastewater infrastructure solutions. The round was co-led by Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures and Mela Ventures, with participation from The Luthra Group and existing backers SBI Ventures, Rainmatter and 8X Ventures Fund I.
Robotics for underground water and wastewater networks
The Chennai-based startup develops inspection and cleaning robots designed for underground pipelines, enabling cities to detect leaks, blockages and structural defects without disruptive digging. Its systems capture high-resolution data and deploy AI-led analytics to map assets, assess pipeline health and create digital twins of utility networks.
Solinas says its technology is operational across 35 cities in 15 Indian states, supporting utilities in preventive maintenance and non-revenue water reduction. The company is preparing to enter the Middle East, where ageing networks and desert conditions heighten the need for pipeline integrity and water conservation.
Addressing safety and compliance gaps
India’s urban sanitation still relies heavily on manual sewer entry, a practice linked to severe health risks and repeated safety violations. By automating inspection and cleaning, Solinas aims to reduce hazardous work, improve compliance with safety norms, and shorten response times to failures that can trigger flooding, contamination and service outages.
Founders and trajectory
Founded by IIT Madras alumni Divanshu Kumar and Moinak Banerjee, Solinas has grown through municipal and utility contracts while refining its product suite. Kumar, the chief executive, has said the company validated its approach “city after city, contract after contract,” focusing on measurable outcomes such as reduced downtime and leakage control.
The startup won the ET Startup Awards 2022 in the Best on Campus category. Its previous round was led by SBI Ventures in May 2024, supporting product development and early market expansion.
How the new funds will be deployed
The latest capital infusion will support expansion into additional Indian states and municipal corporations and accelerate entry into the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Beyond water utilities, Solinas plans to adapt its inspection and integrity solutions for oil and gas pipelines and select defence applications, where asset reliability and predictive maintenance are mission-critical.
Backing the strategy, Hero Enterprise chairman Sunil Kant Munjal described underground water networks as among the toughest challenges in urban infrastructure. Mela Ventures co-founder Krishnakumar Natarajan highlighted that today’s maintenance practices are often manual, risky and expensive, with limited subsurface visibility—gaps that robotics and data can address at scale.
Why this funding is significant
Indian cities lose a substantial share of treated water due to leaks, illegal connections and failing pipes, imposing high fiscal and environmental costs. Data-led inspection and condition-based maintenance can help utilities convert hidden liabilities into predictable, managed assets—improving service delivery and extending asset life.
Solinas is targeting Rs 100 crore in revenue by FY28, betting that a combination of robotics, analytics and city-scale deployments can deliver measurable reductions in non-revenue water and lifecycle costs. If it meets those targets, the company’s growth could signal a viable, homegrown model for modernising critical underground infrastructure.
