A Wi-Fi engagement and mobile ordering platform which raised £16 million in funding is to be struck off.
Onvi Tech Ltd, founded in 2016 as Wi-5 Technologies, is registered in Cardiff but based in London. It built a team of hundreds to target ‘create a new paradigm for in-venue and in-store customer engagement’.
The business was sourced from Wayra, the Telefónica-backed technology accelerator programme, which invested with a view to offering its services to O2 clients in the UK and Telefónica’s clients globally.
The platform effectively allowed consumers to order and purchase food, drinks and other goods by connecting to a Wi-Fi network. It was deployed at the O2 Arena; events such as golf’s BMW PGA Golf Championship at Wentworth; and trialled at Chicago Cubs’ baseball stadium Wrigley Field.
In 2018 it raised an £8m EIS equity round of funding. In 2021 it announced a £4.4m pre-Series A round as it signed up hundreds of hospitality venues, including enterprise brands such as Pho, Boxpark and Urban Pubs & Bars, to help with post-COVID mobile ordering.
Wi-5 was led by CEO and chief product officer Prask Sutton (pictured), who has served as CPO of FinTech 50 firm Round Treasury since September 2024. Sutton is still listed on LinkedIn as holding the CEO/CPO roles at Onvi Tech.
Its senior team in 2021 had a track record of rapid growth and US expansion: for example Alberto Menolascina previously worked at dark kitchen giant Reef, where he served as chief growth officer, and started grocery delivery start–up Dija, acquired by Gopuff in 2021.
According to Sutton, he raised a total of £16m for Wi-5/Onvi and built a 100+ person team across product, engineering, and ops; expanded the product across the UK, EU, and US; and partnered with Apple for Tap to Pay.
The company was placed into creditors voluntary liquidation on 23rd April 2026. One of its directors is Jon Clarke, CEO of listed Crimson Tide, provider of the mpro5 process management app.