Insider Brief
- Aetherflux, a California startup founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, has raised $50 million in Series A funding and secured its first U.S. government backing to develop a space-based solar power system with a demonstration set for 2026.
- Backers include Index Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, Interlagos, and individual investors like Vlad Tenev and Jared Leto; total funding now stands at $60 million.
- With support from the Department of Defense’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund, Aetherflux aims to beam energy from low Earth orbit to power remote and contested military operations, addressing energy resilience and logistics challenges in regions like the Indo-Pacific.
A California startup attempting to build a system to beam solar power from space has raised $50 million in Series A funding and secured its first U.S. government backing, with plans for a space demonstration by 2026.
Aetherflux, founded and helmed by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt with its mission to deliver energy to Earth from orbit, closed the funding round with backing from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and NEA. High-profile individuals including Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, former SEC commissioner Dan Gallagher, actor Jared Leto, and watchmakers Laurent and François-Paul Journe also participated. The round brings the company’s total raised to $60 million.
“In the past few months, we’ve made progress toward making space solar power a reality,” the company announced in a recent blog post. “We were awarded our first government funding, grew the team and expanded our HQ, demonstrated power transmission in our lab, and capitalized the business to move even faster.”
In addition to private funding, the startup was selected for government funding by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) through its Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF). The FY25 award supports development of a proof-of-concept system that will demonstrate wireless power transmission from low Earth orbit (LEO).
According to Aetherflux, the DoD sees space-based solar power as a potential game-changer for military operations in remote or contested regions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. Unlike ground-based infrastructure, which can be vulnerable to attack or difficult to deploy, solar energy from space offers a resilient and infrastructure-independent source of power.
Space solar power could help protect military personnel and assets while cutting operational costs and supporting long-term energy modernization goals, the company noted. The startup indicated it has already demonstrated successful power transmission in the lab and is now preparing for field-scale demonstrations, culminating in “Mission 1,” a planned space-based power-beaming test in 2026.
“With this new capability, we can deliver energy where and when our military needs it most, especially where traditional power delivery is expensive, challenging, or dangerous,” the company noted. The Army and Navy, in particular, are pursuing systems that reduce reliance on fuel convoys and fixed logistics.
The team includes veterans of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Anduril, and the U.S. Navy. Their work builds on decades of research in wireless energy transfer and advanced satellite systems.
“We’re moving with urgency,” the company said. “China declared its intent to deploy space solar power systems within the decade. And the European Space Agency is advancing its own space solar power initiative. The United States must prioritize space solar power or risk ceding energy leadership to others.”
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