One of Scotland’s most ambitious technology firms, PureLiFi, has collapsed into administration after failing to raise further development capital. All 42 staff have been made redundant.

The 14-year-old firm’s backers included Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) which have lost their investments.

Pure LiFi, based in Leith, devised an alternative wireless technology to WiFi and 5G by using light to transmit data. It was established in 2012 by Professor Harald Haas who remained a director of the business.

Since 2012 the business is understood to have raised more than £35m in investment from more than a dozen investors, funds and banks.

After failing to raise new funds, on Monday the directors appointed Kenny Craig and Kevin Mapstone of BTG as joint administrators.

SNIB was among its backers and in a statement it said it had accounted for a loss in Pure Lifi, thought to be £15m, in its recently-published accounts, which showed a £138m overall loss.

Pure LiFi’s shareholders include Stagecoach co-founder Sir Brian Souter and the former Hearts chairwoman Ann Budge.

Thomas McKay, managing partner of BTG in Scotland and Northern Ireland said: “The firm had received significant investment from numerous sources over the years, and despite creating products and generating revenue with some groundbreaking proprietary wireless technology, the business simply ran out of money before it could cross into profitability.

“A strategic shift into manufacturing its own hardware, rather than licensing its globally patented technology to third-party manufacturers, was more costly than initially anticipated.

“By the end of Q2 2026 the business had simply run out of cash flow and was seeking sources of additional investment needed to cover losses until the business crossed into profitability.

“With no further investment forthcoming, the directors were left with no alternative than to appoint administrators to stop the company’s debts rising, and sadly that has led to the immediate redundancy of all 42 employees at the business. 

“Our team is working closely with those affected to help them access the financial entitlements and support available to them, including assistance from Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) and the Redundancy Payments Service.

“In addition to ensuring these employees receive the guidance and advice they need during this process, our priority is to identify any business assets and realise maximum value from their sale, especially the valuable intellectual property assets built up over the years of development, to the benefit of creditors.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish National Investment Bank said: ‘The Bank has worked with pureLiFi and other stakeholders to review its options but, unfortunately, market challenges proved too great.

‘Given these issues, the Bank made a provision for the potential failure of the company in its recent Annual Report and Accounts as part of its unrealised losses, meaning the losses we anticipate at the conclusion of the administration process have already been reported.

“As Scotland’s development bank, the Bank was established to fill an identified gap in the Scottish funding landscape.

“Risk is inherent in all investment and we are mandated to take on higher risk than other commercial investors to drive societal impact and growth in the economy. Some failures are inevitable, and our strategy is based on the entire portfolio over the long term.”

Blinded by the light? What went wrong at Pure LiFi?

Daily Business Bulletin: Subscribe here for our free morning bulletin of breaking news