Aetherflux Eyes $2 Billion Valuation With Major Series B Fundraising Round
Space solar startup Aetherflux is in talks to raise up to $350 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, valuing the company at $2 billion.
Aetherflux Targets $2 Billion Valuation in Series B Round
Aetherflux, the space solar power company founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is reportedly in advanced discussions to secure between $250 million and $350 million in a Series B funding round. According to sources familiar with the matter, the deal would place the startup's valuation at an impressive $2 billion.
Index Ventures Steps Up to Lead the Deal
The Wall Street Journal first broke the news, reporting that prominent venture capital firm Index Ventures is set to lead the fundraising effort. Since its founding in 2024, Aetherflux has raised approximately $80 million in total capital. The company has so far declined to make any official statement regarding the reported round.
A Strategic Pivot Toward Space-Based Data Centers
In a notable strategic shift, Aetherflux has redirected much of its focus away from its original concept — beaming electricity down to Earth using laser technology — and is now channeling efforts toward powering space-based data centers. This move places the company alongside other major players in the space computing arena, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Starcloud, all of which are actively developing distributed computing infrastructure in orbit.
Founder Baiju Bhatt addressed the pivot with characteristic humor during a recent interview. "Let the record show we never lifted our pivot foot — it wasn't a travel," he quipped. He went on to explain the reasoning behind the strategic shift: "The light bulb went off about a year ago that, actually, if you wanted to power AI with the technology that we were thinking about, it would be much more advantageous to actually put the chips in space, rather than project the power from space down to a terrestrial data center."
Laser Transmission Research Continues in Parallel
Despite the new strategic emphasis, Aetherflux has not completely abandoned its original laser power transmission ambitions. The company intends to press ahead with related experiments using a satellite bus developed by Apex Space. However, the centerpiece of its near-term roadmap is now a dedicated data center satellite, which Bhatt has indicated is expected to launch by 2027.
Competing on Cost With Terrestrial Infrastructure
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of Aetherflux's vision is its goal to make space-based computing economically viable on a large scale. "Our goal is to build something that competes with terrestrial economics," Bhatt stated, underscoring the company's intent to challenge conventional data center models with an orbital alternative.
If the Series B round closes as reported, Aetherflux will be significantly better positioned to accelerate both its hardware development and its satellite deployment timeline — potentially reshaping how AI workloads are powered in the years ahead.
