Whisper Aero

Innovating Silent Propulsion For Aviation and Beyond

Whisper Aero is a pioneer in next-generation propulsion technology, with a focus on noise reduction and aerodynamic efficiency to deliver ultra-quiet, high-efficiency solutions for aerospace, defense, and commercial applications. As demand for quieter, more efficient propulsion grows, Whisper Aero is rapidly expanding its capabilities to support partners and customers in shaping the future of clean aviation and beyond.

At a Glance: Whisper Aero

Slashed development timelines by 50%, turning multi-year prototype cycles into months-long sprints
Fast to market using simulation tools from the Ansys Startup Program, affordably allowing them to accelerate testing, iteration, and design cycles as a startup
Small team, big results with multiphysics tools that turned a lean engineering team into a systems-level innovation powerhouse, disrupting multiple industries

The Challenge

The Future of Propulsion – Up in the Air

What does a fighter jet and a leaf blower have in common? For the engineers at Whisper Aero, it’s more than hot air—it’s how that air moves.

Whisper Aero is on a mission to revolutionize air propulsion. Conventionally, this puts the company in the aerospace business, but convention never lent itself to revolution. And this supercharged startup brings a world-class team of engineers motivated to disrupt multiple industries.

“Whisper Aero is delivering cleaner, quieter, more efficient thrust for air mobility and air management,” explains Whisper Co-Founder, Ian Villa. “Drones, airplanes… also leaf blowers, HVAC systems, hand dryers, and hair dryers. All of this is within scope for the technology that we’ve built here.”

“We started the company from a true ‘first-principles’ basis,” says Devon Jedamski, Whisper’s Chief Engineer. “We took a step back to envision the way to make something quiet, and we ended up in a part of the design space that people really haven’t operated before.”

Balancing Innovation and the Books

Without the right tools, Whisper Aero’s engineers would have faced costly modeling limitations and slow iteration cycles. To remain financially sound and move with startup speed, they needed to simulate early and often—proving designs before investing in physical builds.

“As a startup, we need to move fast,” stresses Villa. “You have to operate leanly. You only have so much capital. You only have so much runway.”

The challenge was crystal clear: Whisper Aero needed a robust, integrated solution to power its engineering innovation while respecting their need to maintain a healthy cash flow as a growing startup.

Project Goals

Merging Silos, Eliminating Dead Air

Theoretical physicists have been struggling to devise a “Theory of Everything” for decades: one singular, elegant equation that explains the entire universe, from the largest quasar down to the smallest quark. Whisper Aero’s engineers have needed a similarly elegant solution: software that combines disparate fields and allows the entire team to run simulations encompassing a broad range of physical variables.

“With software tools, the big thing is truly getting to multiphysics,” explains Vineet Ahuja, Whisper’s Head of Flight Sciences. “If you have mature tools in every different discipline and you can stitch them together, you make extremely fuzzy boundaries for engineers. That lets an engineer in a particular functional domain now become a true systems engineer.”

To realize its vision of an air propulsion system adaptable across aerospace, defense, and commercial applications, Whisper Aero needed more than individual tools—it needed a unified platform that could handle complex data, support multiphysics simulation, and break down barriers between engineering disciplines. By integrating these capabilities, Whisper’s engineers could think in systems, collaborate more effectively, and accelerate development with confidence. They knew the right solution could:

Cut down costly physical prototyping
Accelerate build-test-fly iteration loops
Work leaner without sacrificing creativity
Break down silos and empower true systems-level collaboration

The solution needed to be simple, powerful, and adaptable – something that could grow with the company while allowing engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible. It also had to be attainable, respecting the goals to keep cash flow healthy as a startup.

The Solution

KETIV & Ansys: Clearing the Air

To meet its ambitious goals, Whisper Aero partnered with KETIV to implement Ansys simulation software through the Ansys Startup Program—a cost-effective way to access a full suite of multiphysics tools. This enabled engineers to model real-world conditions, automate testing, and make faster, more informed decisions—without compromising quality or innovation

This partnership enabled Whisper’s engineers to model real-world conditions, automate complex simulations, and make informed design decisions at an unprecedented pace.

“The reason I like Ansys is that, in essence, you have a very customized workflow that can be adapted to the needs of the project,” says Vineet Ahuja. “Everything from aero analysis to thermal analysis to powertrain layout to structural constraints can all be incorporated within a single workflow.”

“Ansys guides users in how they want to set up and build models, and it guides them toward a best practice of modular, robust components that you then assemble into something else later,” says Andy Le, Whisper’s Head of Structures. “Just the way you use the program itself reinforces best practices in structural analysis and finite element analysis.”

By leveraging these cutting-edge capabilities, Whisper Aero has been able to iterate designs faster, test more effectively, and integrate multiple engineering disciplines into a single, cohesive workflow.

The Outcomes

Where Vision Meets Velocity

Whisper Aero’s engineers are now equipped with the tools they need to turn visionary ideas into reality – without the bottlenecks larger companies experience.

Accelerated Product Development

Whisper Aero slashed development timelines by 50%, turning multi-year prototype cycles into months-long sprints.

More Effective Engineers

“The thing that I really like about Ansys is that it effectively acts as a force multiplier. The tools are really there to supplement our incredibly creative and intelligent engineering team.”

– Devon Jedamski, Chief Engineer

Greater Innovation Potential

“One of the major benefits to using Ansys is the way it plugs into existing workflows and enables you to use the software you’re familiar with.”

– Colton Johnson, Structures Engineer

“We’re able to equip the team with the tools that allow them to move at the speed startups need to thrive.”

Ian Villa, Chief Operating Officer / Chief Product Officer at Whisper Aero

Looking Ahead

Whisper Aero continues to push the boundaries of air propulsion—quieter, cleaner, and more efficient. With Ansys simulation tools and KETIV’s support, their engineers can test early, iterate faster, and innovate without limits. As their propulsors find new applications across industries, they’re not just changing how things fly—they’re changing how we think about air movement entirely…and maybe even sparing you the headache the next time your neighbor powers up their leaf blower.

“At KETIV, our goal is to help customers unleash innovation and bring their product to market as efficiently as possible. What Ansys provides our customers to do is really be as creative as possible early in the design process.”

Anthony Rodriguez, Co-Owner at KETIV Technologies

Whisper Aero: Designing the Future of Silent Propulsion