Aetherflux, a visionary space solar startup led by Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, has secured $50 million in Series A funding to propel its first low Earth orbit (LEO) demonstration mission in 2026.
Emerging from stealth just last October, the California-based company is on a mission to revolutionize energy transmission—harnessing solar power in space and beaming it to Earth. Inspired by Isaac Asimov’s 1941 sci-fi short story “Reason”, Bhatt seeks to turn fiction into reality.
A Leap Towards Space-Based Energy
Bhatt’s vision is ambitious: launching a constellation of orbiting solar satellites that collect sunlight and transmit energy via laser beams to ground stations on Earth. The upcoming mission will be a historic first step in proving the feasibility of this technology.
“Our goal is to demonstrate 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,” Bhatt told TechCrunch.
The fresh funding, which raises Aetherflux’s total capital to $60 million (including Bhatt’s personal $10 million investment), was led by Index Ventures and Interlagos, with backing from Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and even actor Jared Leto.
How It Works: The Tech Behind Aetherflux
Aetherflux is designing a powerful payload that will be mounted on Apex Space’s Aries satellite bus. This bus, which provides propulsion, power, and communication, will generate energy from solar panels and convert it into a high-energy laser beam aimed at Earth.
On the ground, specialized photovoltaic arrays will capture this energy and store it in batteries for later use. The company is currently scouting for military sites to test its first ground station, as controlled airspace offers an ideal setting.
Beyond 2026: A Scalable Future
Looking ahead, Bhatt envisions portable ground stations, 5 to 10 meters in diameter, that can deliver electricity to even the most remote locations.
“The thing we want to demonstrate [with the first mission] is the end-to-end power linking. We 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.”
While past wireless power transmission tests, like Caltech’s 2023 microwave-beaming experiment, have proven the concept, Aetherflux aims to scale it commercially, making space-based solar power a mainstream reality.
A Future Powered by the Stars
Aetherflux’s bold vision has also caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Defense, which has provided funding through the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to explore its potential for military applications.
With its first space mission now in sight, Aetherflux is poised to usher in a new era—one where energy isn’t just produced on Earth, but drawn from the infinite power of space.
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