UAV manufacturing startup Raphe mPhibr, whose drones participated in Operation Sindoor, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst. The Noida-based startup has so far raised $145 million (over Rs 1,200 crore) in the biggest ever fundraise by an Indian aerospace manufacturing firm.
Raphe mPhibr Chief Executive Vivek Mishra told NDTV the key to beating China in drone technology and market is to build “a very strong ecosystem for design, development, and manufacturing.”
Giving an example from his own startup’s experience, Mr Mishra said they needed an internal combustion engine for one of their long-endurance drones, but they could not find an ideal one, so they ended up building one that perfectly matched their needs.
“For one of our long-endurance drones, we needed an internal combustion engine. Anything existing in the market would be either too expensive or too heavy or would not meet performance [parameters]. So we decided that we would design and manufacture the internal combustion engine here,” Mr Mishra said.
“And we were able to do it. This was India’s first design of an internal combustion engine. The goal was not to recreate anything, but to reduce size, weight, increase performance, and attune it to the requirement for the UAV and hence the user,” Mr Mishra said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.
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