Being the first private business in India to develop and successfully test a supersonic ramjet engine, Tezz, Bangalore-based Hyprix Aviation has become a trailblazer in the country’s private defense and aerospace industry.
The company was founded in June 2024 by engineer-entrepreneurs Devmalya Biswas and Divyanshu Mandowara, who became friends in high school in Ahmedabad because they were both fascinated by high-speed aviation. Their goal was to close the technological gap in India’s high-speed propulsion systems, an area that has traditionally been dominated by foreign defense giants and government agencies.
The founders’ discovery of a crucial reliance on foreign propulsion technologies for supersonic missiles, fighter planes, and artillery shells during their academic and early professional careers led to the breakthrough.
They founded Hyprix with the goal of developing cutting-edge artillery technology and next-generation propulsion systems, inspired by India’s drive for defense technology independence. They were able to start their first project in August 2024 thanks to grants and first government support through Start-up India.
Tezz, a liquid-fueled supersonic ramjet engine, was designed, constructed, and successfully tested by Hyprix in just five months at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) at IIT-Madras in January 2025. Tezz is noteworthy as a technological accomplishment for a number of reasons:
It is appropriate for next-generation missiles and aerial platforms since it performs well at Mach-2 to Mach-4 speeds.
Tezz is three to four times more efficient than traditional solid rocket-powered missile systems, allowing projectiles to travel farther and sustain higher speeds.
In line with national programs like “Make in India” and the larger objective of technical self-reliance, its development represents a critical step in lowering India’s dependency on foreign defense technology.
There were many obstacles in the way of reaching this milestone. The founders had to deal with operational challenges like locating premium aerospace materials and managing intricate regulatory requirements, financial limitations from a lack of private investors and restricted grants, and skepticism from seasoned scientists. Notwithstanding these challenges, their tenacity and creative thinking allowed them to produce a functional prototype in record time, establishing them as pioneers in India’s developing private defense manufacturing sector.
Hyprix is now working on the Kira-M1, a 155mm ramjet-propelled extended-range artillery shell, in response to Tezz’s success. With ramjet propulsion and AI-guided precision, this next-generation shell seeks to improve the accuracy and range of Indian artillery while meeting the nation’s desire to increase shell production for upcoming defense needs. The business is still entirely self-funded and is actively looking for more funding to help achieve its lofty objectives, which go beyond defense to include the development of commercial navigation systems for supersonic and hypersonic travel.
In addition to symbolizing technological innovation, Hyprix’s accomplishments show the private sector’s tenacity and expanding capabilities in areas that were previously thought to be the sole purview of government organizations. Their quick development demonstrates a larger pattern of indigenous businesses breaking into and revolutionizing vital defense technology fields, opening the door for a more independent and sophisticated Indian defense sector.
