Whisper Aero has designed an electric ducted fan that it says is both quieter and more efficient than existing propulsors, having iterated nine generations in two years. The company targets applications from small drones up to crewed eVTOL platforms and has demonstrated moving some noise into ultrasonic frequencies. It has pursued early validation and testing with U.S. Department of Defense partners, including the Air Force Research Lab, and claims a 55-pound drone can be effectively undetectable from the ground at 200 feet. Whisper emerged from stealth two years ago with $7.5 million in prior funding and now plans to commercialize first on the defense side. The company is headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, employs roughly 10–50 people, and plans to double its team while expanding into an 8,000 sq ft Nashville design/prototyping facility and a 40,000 sq ft Crossville testing/production space. Longer-term plans include non-DOD verticals such as commercial aviation, industrial, and consumer products (the company has already demoed an electric leaf blower). Whisper Aero is developing an electric thruster intended to blend noise from delivery drones and eVTOL air taxis into background levels. The company emphasizes reducing not just overall volume but problematic acoustic profiles such as broadband and tonal components. Whisper says its product is being designed to be scalable and adoptable across different aircraft architectures. It has conducted static tests at its Tennessee headquarters, with some testing done in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, and plans dynamic wind-tunnel testing. The startup has attracted around $7.5 million in investment and intends to convert provisional patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office next year. Whisper aims to enter the small-drone market around 2023 and scale up to air taxis, targeting thruster manufacturing and vehicle integration by the end of the decade while still resolving remaining technical and cost challenges.

Total raised

$40M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Apr 2023