NDTV's Shiv Aroor and Raphe mPhibr CEO Vivek Mishra discuss drone tech in India
- The Noida-based drone manufacturing startup has so far raised $145 million (over Rs 1,200 crore)
- Raphe mPhibr's drones fired missiles during Operation Sindoor against Pakistani targets
- Indian Army ordered 450 suicide drones from a competitor and plans to get more from Raphe mPhibr
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.
He added that a lot of companies in India can focus on research and manufacturing. "We can then come up with unique products for the unique requirements of India."
Raphe mPhibr proved its mettle during Operation Sindoor, when India launched strikes against Pakistan in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists. Their drones fired missiles at Pakistani targets. Since then there has been a huge surge in the Indian military's interest in acquiring more of these systems from domestic firms.
The Indian Army, for instance, just ordered 450 suicide drones from a competitor and is all set to order hundreds more from the Noida-based startup. With enough resources, Raphe mPhibr is expected to innovate and deliver more capable drones to the military.
"This was our Series B round where we raised $100 million, led by General Catalyst. A lot of our existing investors like Amal Parekh and Think Investment also pitched in this round as well. We$100 started almost a decade ago and this was a major [funding] round that we did to support the increase in capacity for our research and manufacturing," Mr Mishra told NDTV.
On the huge interest in Raphe mPhibr's products following Operation Sindoor, Mr Mishra said their vision from Day 1 of operations was to develop a strong research and manufacturing capability in India.
"We have been silently working for around a decade to develop the capacity where we are able to not only do research on the system level, but also do research and manufacturing on a subsystem level, where in each and every part of the drone, be it the structures, be it composites, be it electronics, wire harnesses, or even software - are designed and manufactured here," Mr Mishra said.
"We have a unique manufacturing capability where state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques along with research are under one roof. For us, it's the same old vision. The value has increased wherein we are raising a larger amount compared to the last round, but this is towards the same vision that we have to be able to do more deep research into every field and focus on manufacturing and indigenous capabilities," the Raphe mPhibr CEO said.
He expressed optimism that Indian engineers who leave the country to look for opportunities abroad would return in large numbers to work in the exciting field of drone tech. He said they have been seeing a trend where hundreds of scientists who have been working in the US for up to 15 years and even young scientists showing excitement in getting opportunities to work in drone tech and related fields in India.
"The primary thing is that if you give people the kind of work that becomes an enjoyment, especially for engineers and scientists, they would definitely want to come. We are seeing this. A lot of Indians who have returned from the US and Europe are working with us. And not only Indians, we are proud to welcome other people as well who want to contribute in this sector," Mr Mishra said.
