Aetherflux reportedly raising Series B at $2 billion valuation

Aetherflux, a space solar power startup founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is reportedly seeking to raise $250 million to $350 million in a Series B funding round that would value the company at $2 billion. The round is said to be led by Index Ventures, and the company has previously raised about $80 million since its inception in 2024. Aetherflux declined to comment on the fundraising news. The company has recently shifted its strategic focus from its original vision of transmitting electricity from space to Earth via lasers toward developing space-based data centers. Baiju Bhatt explained that powering AI by placing compute chips directly in space is more advantageous than beaming power down to terrestrial data centers. While Aetherflux will continue experimenting with laser power transmission on a satellite bus built by Apex Space, it plans to launch its first data center satellite in 2027, aiming to compete with terrestrial data center economics. This pivot aligns with broader industry trends as other space companies explore distributed