When Baiju Bhatt stepped down as Chief Creative Officer of Robinhood last year, few expected his next venture: Aetherflux, a space startup aiming to prove that beaming solar power from orbit is more than fantasy.
Bhatt—who co-founded Robinhood in 2013 after earning a master’s in mathematics at Stanford—has quietly raised $60 million to develop satellites that collect sunlight and convert it into laser light, which can be precisely aimed at ground receivers. His goal isn’t a gigantic, city-sized array but a nimble, fiber-laser approach that shrinks the hardware and speeds deployment.
“Traditional space solar power always looked like science fiction—arrays the size of small cities, giant microwave dishes,” Bhatt told a TechCrunch StrictlyVC audience in Menlo Park. “We’re doing something far more compact and agile.”
How it works
- Collection: Solar panels on Aetherflux satellites harvest sunlight in low Earth orbit.
- Conversion: Power is fed into laser diodes and channeled through fiber systems.
- Transmission: The laser beam targets a small, portable receiver on the ground.
By replacing bulky microwave antennas with fiber-laser modules, Aetherflux promises a laser spot initially around 10 meters across—narrow enough for battlefield use yet too small to be a high-value intelligence prize if captured.
Defense first
The U.S. Department of Defense has already backed Aetherflux, recognizing the value of wire-free energy for remote bases. Bhatt notes that this tech can deliver power where fuel convoys can’t safely go.
“It lets the U.S. project energy on the battlefield without hauling fuel,” he explains.
Beyond defense
While Aetherflux is starting with military applications, space-based solar power could one day supply 24/7 renewable baseload energy anywhere on Earth—supporting disaster relief, remote communities, and conventional grids after nightfall.
Next steps
- Demo mission: Launch a proof-of-concept satellite in June 2026.
- Scale-up: Partner with DARPA and commercial launch providers as tech matures.
- Commercial rollout: Pursue civilian markets once reliability and cost targets are met.
Bhatt draws inspiration from GPS and SpaceX: start with government funding and then expand to commercial realms. Aetherflux’s “hardware-rich” strategy means building and iterating prototypes now, not waiting a decade for a perfect system.
“We bolt one spacecraft into a SpaceX fairing,” Bhatt quips. “It better work the first time.”
Join the mission
Aetherflux has a 25-member team of physicists, engineers and mathematicians—hired from NASA, SpaceX, Rivian and more—and is still recruiting. For those eager to tackle “super-giant” space challenges, Bhatt’s offering a front-row seat in pioneering clean energy’s next frontier.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLzO_-MAXUo
