Aetherflux

Getting to work with Baiju Bhatt a second time around is a true privilege. He's one of the most ambitious and creative minds I've ever met and his new company embodies that ambition and creativity. Aetherflux is setting out to solve the increasing demand for energy with an innovative approach. I've been impressed by the thoughtfulness behind their vision, the talented team around the table, and the passion with which they are working towards their goals. The office environment is one of energy, problem-solving, collaboration, and some good humor. Yesterday, Aetherflux announced its Series A financing from some of the best investors in venture capital: Jan Hammer at Index Ventures, Katherine Boyle at Andreessen Horowitz, my former team at New Enterprise Associates, and many others. It's one of the many exciting milestones the team has recently achieved. I can't wait to see what the next chapter for this company holds. Onwards! 

Help us welcome Paul Rankin to Aetherflux! Paul joins us as an electrical engineer, having previously worked at Astranis Space Technologies, CesiumAstro, and RTX where he designed power supplies and power systems for satellite and terrestrial applications. His work includes power supplies for software defined radios, electric propulsion, and many of the first product offerings at CesiumAstro. He is an expert on the implementation of GaN devices in space, and has experience designing, building, and testing electronics hardware. He studied electrical engineering at Charlotte before attending graduate school at Virginia Tech’s CPES. Welcome, Paul!

One thing I know about Baiju Bhatt is that he’s passionate about space. From growing up the son of a NASA scientist to studying physics and math at Stanford, he’s always talked about space as the ultimate market opportunity. So last spring, when he told me about Aetherflux, I knew I had to be a part of it. What impressed me most was how he took a wildly risky and ambitious idea—launching satellites with solar panels into orbit and wirelessly transmitting power around the globe—and broke it down piece by piece to make it seem less like a moonshot and more like a blueprint. At Index Ventures, we double down on exceptional entrepreneurs. Baiju learned at Robinhood what it takes to build a complex, regulated company at scale. With Aetherflux, he’s tackling one of humanity’s great challenges: how to capture energy, store it, and deliver it where it’s needed most. At its core, it’s about democratizing access—something Baiju knows a thing or two about. We’re incredibly proud to be leading Aetherflux’s Series A. This is a big bet, but exactly the kind we love: on a founder we know and trust, tackling a problem that matters, with a plan grounded in reality. Congrats to Baiju and team—now let’s go catch some rays. 🚀🛰️☀️ https://lnkd.in/eqAKU6EC

America needs more energy. Aetherflux can deliver it. We’ve raised $60 million to help America lead in space solar power. Index Ventures & Interlagos recently led our $50m Series A, with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Vlad Tenev, Daniel Gallagher, Jared Leto, Laurent and F.P. Journe, and others joining. Space solar power can give the U.S. an asymmetric advantage by delivering energy where it’s needed most, day or night. This capability is especially valuable in remote or contested areas, including the Indo-Pacific, where traditional power delivery can be dangerous, expensive, or challenging. It can protect warfighters, reduce reliance on fuel convoys and infrastructure, and save taxpayer money. The United States Department of Defense’s OECIF, which invests in operational energy technology for the military, recently approved our program for funding. We’re building a team of engineers and researchers with backgrounds at NASA, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Anduril, and the U.S. Navy. If you want to help America win — join us. We’re hiring! https://lnkd.in/gE-6SrSM

Meet Kevin Pounds! He’s our Space Laser Engineer, focused on designing the system to accurately direct laser light to the ground stations. Before joining Aetherflux, he spent nearly six years at SpaceX, where he developed optical systems for Falcon, Dragon, and Starship, as well as the optical intersatellite link for Starlink. He took these systems from early prototypes through high-volume manufacturing, including full ownership of the Space Laser production line. Since joining Aetherflux, he has established the link acquisition architecture and started planning for future satellite systems.

Derrek Reggie Drachenberg recently joined us as a Principal Laser Engineer. He brings nearly two decades of experience in directed energy and LiDAR. At Aetherflux, he will develop advanced laser systems to transport energy from space-based solar arrays to ground stations on Earth. Our mission is to deliver energy to planet Earth. We’re focused on addressing the United States Department of Defense’s urgent energy challenges. With space solar power, we can deliver energy where it’s needed most, especially in contested environments, where traditional power delivery is expensive, complex, and dangerous. Before Aetherflux, Reggie worked at Cruise where he led a team developing short-range LiDAR technology for future autonomous vehicles. Before that, he worked on novel approaches to high-power directed energy applications, developing VBG-based spectral beam combining systems at CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, at UCF, and advancing ribbon-shaped fiber lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he also led the development of diagnostic systems for a facility-scale high-power laser. Welcome, Reggie!

Please welcome Bill Simpson to Aetherflux! Bill joins us from SpaceX’s Starlink, where he served as a Lead Engineer and Software Manager, developing critical Flight Dynamics systems for thousands of Starlink satellites. At Aetherflux, Bill will help build a team of space networking, hardware, and firmware engineers to advance our mission to deliver energy to planet Earth. We're taking a new approach to space solar power, focusing first on providing operational energy to the United States Department of Defense, which has complex and urgent energy needs. With space solar power, we can deliver energy to remote, contested environments where it's otherwise expensive, challenging, or dangerous to get energy.  With over 30 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, Bill has worked with organizations including the U.S. Special Operations Forces and Lockheed Martin. Bill's tenure at Starlink included significant contributions on the classified side of operations in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, working in highly secure, mission-critical environments. As the founder and CEO, and later CTO, of Braxton Technologies Inc., he led the development and deployment of software that launched and maintained the GPS satellite constellation for the Air Force, now United States Space Force. Welcome to the team, Bill!

Proud to see Aetherflux on the list. If you want to build the future of energy with Baiju Bhatt, we're hiring.

We're proud to be on Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism 50, a list of companies working to strengthen our national security. At Aetherflux, we're transforming energy generation and energy delivery. By delivering energy to forward operating bases, especially in contested environments, we can give our military a decisive operational advantage, untethered by complex or dangerous supply chains. 🇺🇸 Join us: https://lnkd.in/emvER4in https://lnkd.in/e4KyK2M8

We joined the popular deep tech show, First Principles, to talk energy security, technical challenges with space solar power, Magic the Gathering, and more. Topics & timestamps 👇 00:00 — Why is the Robinhood co-founder starting a space company? 05:11 — Introducing Aetherflux: the American energy grid in orbit 10:30 — The energy cost & energy opportunity 18:24 — “You’re not a space company until you have something in space.” 20:12 — What are the hardest parts of engineering this product? 25:27 — Figuring out how to build a hyper-ambitious company from zero 28:06 — How do you get from a demo to the ultimate vision? 32:25 — “What’s an industry that could exist, that doesn’t exist right now?” 35:28 — American innovation is a juggernaut 39:23 — Expeditionary power for the Department of Defense & disaster response 44:50 — The analogy between Robinhood and Aetherflux 47:41 — Assigned watching, playing, and reading from Baiju Thank you for having Baiju Bhatt on the show, Christian Keil.