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Aetherflux, the space solar startup founded by Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire co-founder of Robinhood, has raised $50 million in a Series A round as it works to launch its first low Earth orbit demonstration in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The San Carlos, California-based startup, which came out of stealth last October<\/a>, aims to eventually launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites that can collect and transmit solar energy directly to \u201cground stations\u201d on Earth. It\u2019s an idea that was initially triggered by Isaac Asimov\u2019s 1941 short story \u201cReason.\u201d Bhatt is focused on turning this science fiction-inspired concept into reality.<\/p>\n But first, Aetherflux needs to get a satellite to orbit to prove out the tech, to \u201cdemonstrate that we have made this transformative progress of going from humans not having power from space to, for the very first time, there being power from space for humans,\u201d Bhatt, the startup\u2019s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n At least, that\u2019s the goal with next year\u2019s launch, which will be supported by the fresh capital Aetherflux has raised. The round brings Aetherflux\u2019s total funding to $60 million after Bhatt invested $10 million of his own funds into the company. The Series A round was led by Index Ventures and Interlagos, with participation from Bill Gates\u2019s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and NEA, as well as some other interesting names like Jared Leto rounding it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bhatt, who joined us on the TechCrunch Equity podcast<\/a> earlier this year, told TechCrunch that Aetherflux will use the funds to hire more engineers and invest in the technology and infrastructure needed for its first several missions.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team is primarily focused right now on building the payload that sits on top of the bus\u00a0\u2026 that takes all the power that the satellite bus generates and turns it into laser power,\u201d Bhatt said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aetherflux is using Apex Space<\/a>\u2019s Aries satellite bus. A satellite bus is the core structure and system of a satellite that provides essential functions for its operation, like power, propulsion, and communications. Most buses generate power through solar panels, and Bhatt says that power \u2014 as much as a kilowatt of energy \u2014 will be sent back to Earth via lasers.<\/p>\n On the receiving end will be Aetherflux\u2019s \u201cground stations,\u201d made up of photovoltaic arrays that convert sunlight to energy that is stored in batteries for later use. Bhatt said his team, which is made up of engineers and researchers from NASA, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Anduril, and the U.S. Navy, is also working on building out Aetherflux\u2019s first ground station. The startup doesn\u2019t have a location for the station yet, but it\u2019s evaluating military sites where there\u2019s more controlled air space.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the future, Bhatt says the goal is to build small, portable ground stations \u2014 anywhere from 5 to 10 meters in diameter \u2014 to bring electricity to even the most remote locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing we want to demonstrate [with the first mission] is the end-to-end power linking,\u201d Bhatt said. \u201cWe want to be able to demonstrate that we actually have electricity on the ground and use that to light up a light installation or do some electronic stuff on the ground.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Few have accomplished the feat of sending solar power from space to Earth. One of the only successful missions was in 2023 when researchers at Caltech\u2019s Space Solar Power Project<\/a> demonstrated wireless power transfer from low Earth orbit using microwave beaming. That proved the concept but falls short of Aetherflux\u2019s pitch for a scalable, commercial system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aetherflux\u2019s raise comes off the back of an award<\/a> from the Department of Defense\u2019s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to develop space solar power for the U.S. military.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n