AetherFlux, a Space Solar startup founded by Robinhood billionaire co-founder Baiju Bhatt, raised $50 million in the Series A round to work to launch its first Low Earth Orbit Dedding in 2026.
The San Carlos, California-based startup came out of stealth last October, but it aims to ultimately launch a low-Earth orbit satellite constellations that allow solar energy to be collected and transmitted directly to “ground stations” on Earth. This is the idea first sparked by Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story “Reason.” Batt focuses on turning this science-fiction-inspired concept into reality.
But first, etherflux has to put satellites into orbit to prove their technology, and “it has demonstrated that for the first time from humans we have demonstrated this transformative progress that shows us power from the universe for humans,” Batt, the startup founder and CEO, told TechCrunch.
At least that’s the goal for launch next year, and this is supported by the fresh capital ether flux. The round brings AetherFlux total funds to $60 million after Bhatt invests $10 million in his own money into the company. The Series A round was led by Index Ventures and Interlago, capturing other interesting names like Bill Gates’ groundbreaking energy ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and NEA, and Jared Leto.
Bhatt, who joined the TechCrunch Equity Podcast earlier this year, told TechCrunch that AetherFlux will use the funds to hire more engineers and invest in the technology and infrastructure needed for some of the first few missions.
“Our team is currently focused on building payloads that are primarily on top of the bus, which requires all the power that the satellite bus produces and turns into laser power,” Batt said.
AetherFlux uses Aries Satellite Bus from Apex Space. Satellite buses are the core structures and systems of satellites that provide essential functions for operation such as power, propulsion, and communications. Most buses generate power through solar panels, and the bat says that as much power as kilowatts of energy is sent back to Earth through the laser.
On the receiver is AetherFlux’s “ground stations,” consisting of solar arrays that convert sunlight into energy stored in the battery for later use. Bhatt said the team of NASA, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Anduril and US Navy engineers and researchers are also working on building AetherFlux’s first ground station. The startup still doesn’t have a station location, but it evaluates military sites with more controlled airspace.
In the future, Batt says the goal is to build small, portable ground stations with diameters of 5-10 meters, bringing electricity to the most remote areas.
“What I want to demonstrate (in the first mission) is the end-to-end power link,” Batt said. “We want to demonstrate that there is actually electricity on the ground and use it to lighten up light installations and do electronically on the ground.”
Few people have achieved the feat of sending solar power from space to Earth. One of the only successful missions came in 2023 when researchers from Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project demonstrated wireless power transfer from low-earth orbit using microwave beaming. It proved concept, but it does not reach the pitch of ether fluxes in scalable commercial systems.
AetherFlux salary increases are behind awards from the Department of Defense’s Operational Energy Capacity Improvement Fund for developing US military space solar power generation.