Building something truly new often means building everything yourself.

This was the reality facing Raptee.HV, an India-based startup developing the country’s first high-voltage electric motorcycle. While high-voltage architecture has become common in electric cars, it is not the standard in the two-wheeler market. There is no established ecosystem to build upon, no off-the-shelf components, no reference designs, and no proven playbook.

The team did what many deep‑tech startups must do: they started from the ground up.

Designing a Motorcycle From Scratch

Raptee.HV’s goal is to deliver a technologically advanced motorcycle that elevates the everyday commuting experience. Pursuing a high‑voltage architecture means the team has to design and validate every major subsystem themselves. From the powertrain and battery pack to the motor controller and suspension, each component is engineered, modeled, and tested in-house.

For a small team working under constrained timelines and resources, relying on traditional build‑and‑test cycles is not an option.

Moving Development into the Virtual World

To keep pace, Raptee.HV has adopted a Model-Based Design workflow using MATLAB and Simulink. By shifting early development into a virtual environment, the team can explore ideas, test assumptions, and uncover issues long before hardware is involved.

Using Simulink, engineers create detailed digital models of the motorcycle’s key systems. These models allow them to experiment and iterate before machining parts.

Just as importantly, modeling helps the team manage complexity. High‑voltage systems demand tight coordination between controls, power electronics, and energy storage. MATLAB enables engineers to develop and validate complex algorithms for the battery pack and motor controller while continuously evaluating efficiency and performance.

The result is faster iterations and better design decisions earlier in the process.

One Engineer, One Workflow: Traction Inverter Development

One clear example of this approach is the development of the motorcycle’s traction inverter.

In a traditional setup, this process would involve multiple handoffs. Control engineers, embedded programmers, and test engineers each working in different tools. Instead, MATLAB and Simulink enable a single, end-to-end workflow. One engineer designs schematics, models system behavior, generates code, and deploys it directly to the target hardware for testing on the bike.

With Embedded Coder, Raptee.HV generates production-ready C code straight from their Simulink models. This approach eliminates delays and reduces the risk of translation errors between design and implementation.

Faster Development, Higher Confidence

For Raptee.HV, Model-Based Design isn’t just about speed; it is about confidence.

By identifying and fixing issues in simulation, the team has reduced overall development time. They can analyze control‑loop stability, run Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HIL) tests, and validate system behavior across operating conditions before those systems ever reach customers’ hands.

High-fidelity models also play an unexpected role beyond engineering. For the startup, demonstrating validated system behavior helps the team clearly communicate technical progress to investors during early development.

As Phunith Kumar V, Co‑founder at Raptee.HV, concludes, “I believe that the pace of innovation is gated by the pace of iteration. What MATLAB helps us to do is iterate fast, even without going to hardware, which helps us reach new levels of product development.”

For a startup building something the market has not seen before, that ability to iterate quickly and with confidence can make all the difference.

Hear more from the Raptee.HV team:

Learn more about Raptee.HV: https://www.rapteehv.com

Read more on how Raptee.HV uses Model-Based Design: https://www.mathworks.com/company/mathworks-stories/designing-indias-first-high-voltage-electric-motorcycle-with-model-based-design-and-code-generation.html 

Learn more about MathWorks Startup Program: https://www.mathworks.com/products/startups.html