Drone startup Raphe mPhibr on Thursday said it has raised $100 million in a round led by US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst, in the largest private funding raised by an Indian company in the industry.
The round, which also saw participation from existing investors, including Amal Parikh, Think Investments, and other high-net-worth family offices, takes Raphe mPhibr’s total capital raised to $145 million.
Conceptualised in 2016, the company claims to have logged over 1 million kilometres of flight, delivered the world’s first operational drone swarm, and developed India’s first indigenous state-of-the-art military grade autopilot and lightweight internal combustion engine.
Other investors in the firm include Ascent Capital, Evolute Ventures, Munish Financial, Lollapalooza Enterprise, Dovetail Capital, Pivotal Software and Anjana Projects.
According to Tracxn, Raphe was valued at $836 million as of March 2025.
More investors are recognising the growing importance of drones in military operations, leading to more investments in the space.
In April, Vayudh, the defence technology arm of IIT Delhi-incubated BotLab Dynamics, raised $10 million in fresh funding led by Dharana Capital, while Garuda Aerospace raised Rs 100 crore ($11.6 million) in its Series B funding round from Venture Catalysts (VCAT), valued at $250 million.
In the same month, defence technology firm Tonbo Imaging raised Rs 175 crore in a Series D funding round from Florintree Advisors, Tenacity Ventures, and the Export-Import Bank of India, as it gears up for a potential listing on Indian stock exchanges.
For General Catalyst, Raphe adds to the growing list of Indian companies in its portfolio. Most recently, the firm backed Indian healthtech startup PB Healthcare Services (PB Health), marking the largest seed-stage fundraise ever raised by an Indian startup.
General Catalyst, which has over $25 billion in assets under management, focuses on seed- and early-stage deals. It closed its last vehicle at around $4.6 billion in February 2022.
Its portfolio companies in India include aerospace defence manufacturer Jeh Aerospace, insurance startup Loop, fintech startups OneCode, Dhani, CRED, and Uni, and used car retail Spinny.
Its global portfolio includes Airbnb, Canva, Stripe, Guild, and Snap.
