Aetherflux raised a $50M Series A, marking the space solar power startup’s first outside investment.
Index Ventures and Interlagos led the round, which also included participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and actor Jared Leto, among others. Founder Baiju Bhatt, who also co-founded Robinhood, had previously invested $10M of his own capital in Aetherflux.
Here comes the sun: The company’s long-term goal is to build a constellation of small satellites to collect solar power in orbit and beam it down to Earth using infrared lasers. The company is focused on customers including troops operating in remote areas, and disaster zones where traditional power has been cut off.
Solar power in space has a few benefits over solar panels on Earth, including being able to harness the sun’s energy at night and in cloudy weather.
DoD buy in: Aetherflux also announced it received its first government funding from the DoD to develop a proof of concept that would demonstrate transmitting power to Earth from LEO—a potentially big win for national security.
“Space solar power can give the US an asymmetric advantage by delivering energy where it’s needed most, day or night,” Bhatt wrote on X. “This capability is especially valuable in remote or contested areas, including the Indo-Pacific, where traditional power delivery can be dangerous, expensive, or challenging.”
