Aetherflux Raises $50 Million in Series A Funding
Aetherflux, the space solar startup founded by billionaire co-founder of Robinhood Baiju Bhatt, has recently secured $50 million in a Series A round. The San Carlos, California-based startup, which emerged from stealth mode last October, is gearing up to launch its first low Earth orbit demonstration in 2026. The ultimate goal of Aetherflux is to deploy a constellation of low earth orbit satellites that can capture and transmit solar energy directly to Earth’s “ground stations.”
The inspiration behind Aetherflux’s mission can be traced back to Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story “Reason.” Bhatt is determined to turn this science fiction concept into a real-world solution. The upcoming satellite launch in 2026 will be a critical milestone for Aetherflux to showcase the transformative progress in harnessing power from space for human use.
To support the upcoming mission, Aetherflux has raised a total of $60 million, with Bhatt contributing $10 million of his own funds. The Series A round was led by Index Ventures and Interlagos, with notable participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andressen Horowitz, NEA, and even actor Jared Leto.
Aetherflux plans to utilize the funding to expand its team of engineers, enhance technology, and prepare for future missions. The focus is on developing the payload that converts satellite-generated power into laser energy. The startup has partnered with Apex Space’s Aries satellite bus for the mission, which will transmit energy back to Earth through lasers.
On Earth, Aetherflux’s ground stations, equipped with photovoltaic arrays, will receive the transmitted energy and store it for later use. The team, comprising experts from NASA, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Anduril, and the U.S. Navy, is also working on building the first ground station. Aetherflux envisions creating portable ground stations to provide electricity to remote areas in the future.
Bhatt emphasizes the importance of demonstrating the end-to-end power linking capability with the first mission. A successful demonstration will involve lighting up installations or conducting electronic activities on the ground using the transmitted electricity.
While past missions have shown the potential of wireless power transfer from space to Earth, Aetherflux aims to develop a scalable commercial system that can revolutionize the way we access solar power. The startup’s recent funding boost follows an award from the Department of Defense for developing space solar power for military applications.
