Aetherflux, a startup focused on harnessing solar energy from space, has secured $50 million in Series A funding. Founded by Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire who co-created Robinhood, this Californian company plans to launch its initial low Earth orbit (LEO) demonstration in 2026. Inspired by Isaac Asimov’s 1941 narrative “Reason,” Aetherflux’s vision is to deploy a constellation of satellites capable of transmitting solar energy back to Earth.
The primary objective for Aetherflux is to demonstrate its technology by successfully sending a satellite into orbit. Bhatt emphasized this goal, highlighting the significance of proving that humans can receive power from space for the first time. The latest funding raises Aetherflux’s total to $60 million, following Bhatt’s own $10 million investment. Leading the Series A round were Index Ventures and Interlagos, with notable contributions from Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and even Jared Leto.
Aetherflux plans to utilise these funds to enhance its engineering team and advance the technological infrastructure crucial for its forthcoming missions. The team is currently focused on creating a payload that converts solar energy collected by the satellite into laser power. This will be transmitted back to the Earth’s surface, using the Aries satellite bus from Apex Space, which centralises essential satellite functions such as power generation and propulsion. The system aims to send approximately one kilowatt of energy via lasers to ground stations on Earth.
These ground stations will consist of photovoltaic arrays designed to gather and store the transmitted energy. While Aetherflux has not yet finalised a location for its first ground station, it is considering military areas with regulated airspace for this project. The future plan includes developing small, mobile ground stations, ranging from five to ten meters in diameter, to deliver electricity to isolated regions.
Bhatt stated that Aetherflux’s initial mission will aim to demonstrate a complete power transmission cycle, showcasing the capacity to produce electricity on the ground for practical applications. This initiative follows in the footsteps of recent achievements in space-based solar energy, notably Caltech’s successful wireless power transmission experiment in 2023, which validated the concept but did not reach the scalability that Aetherflux envisions.
This funding round coincides with an award from the Department of Defense’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund, facilitating Aetherflux’s mission to develop solar power from space for military uses. With a seasoned team comprising former engineers and researchers from leading aerospace and defence organisations, Aetherflux is poised to potentially revolutionise how solar energy is harnessed and delivered, aiming for a sustainable solution to energy challenges on Earth.
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