6 days ago
Raphe mPhibr Bets on Long-Endurance UAVs After Quiet Expansion
Raphe mPhibr is an Indian company that builds military drones.
Brothers Vivek and Vikash Mishra started it after making a small drone while studying in the United States.
The company began by listening to soldiers and designing drones for difficult places.
Its drones can watch areas, carry supplies and support other military tasks.
Raphe says some of its drones were used during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
It has received support from Indian government research organizations and later raised private investment.
The company now employs about 1,000 people and has a large manufacturing campus.
Its next goal is to build much bigger drones that can fly for more than 26 hours.
Those aircraft will be harder to design and produce than its earlier drones.
Raphe mPhibr was founded in 2017 by brothers Vivek and Vikash Mishra after they built an octocopter during their doctoral studies in the United States.
The Noida-based company develops UAVs for surveillance, logistics, combat and drone-swarm applications for India’s armed forces.
Raphe raised $100 million in June 2025, bringing total funding to $145 million and its reported valuation to nearly $900 million.
The company has grown to 1,000 employees, a nearly 700,000-square-foot manufacturing campus and reported FY25 revenue of ₹260 crore with a ₹6.5 crore profit.
Raphe is developing UAVs designed to fly for more than 26 hours and travel over 2,000 kilometers, creating a major engineering and manufacturing challenge.
- Who
- Raphe mPhibr, founded by brothers Vivek Mishra and Vikash Mishra, and India’s armed forces.
- What
- The company has expanded its defence-UAV business and is developing larger, long-endurance unmanned aircraft.
- Where
- The company is based in Noida, India, and develops and manufactures UAVs for operations including remote and high-altitude areas.
- When
- Raphe was incorporated in 2017; it raised $100 million in June 2025, and its drones were reported deployed during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
- Why
- Raphe says it is focused on solving requirements identified by soldiers and building more defence technology domestically.
Key facts
- Founded
- 2017
- Latest funding
- $100 million raised in June 2025
- Total capital raised
- $145 million
- Reported valuation
- Nearly $900 million
- Employees
- Approximately 1,000
- FY25 operating revenue
- ₹260 crore
- Long-endurance target
- More than 26 hours of flight time and over 2,000 kilometers of range
Quotes
Vivek Mishra
Raphe mPhibr cofounder and specialist in robotics, control systems and software
“A drone is just a word. If you think about it, it’s an aerial platform. It has everything an aircraft has. To make a good system, the technology behind it has to be good.”
inc42.com
“We are very ethical engineers. We would either give an amazing product or we won’t give it. The delay happened because we wanted to maintain the quality.”
inc42.com
Sources
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