Ethereal Exploration Guild (EtherealX), one of India’s most ambitious space-tech startups, has raised $20.5 million in a Series A funding round co-led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, with strong backing from marquee investors including Accel, Prosus, YourNest Venture Capital, BlueHill Capital, Campus Fund, and Riceberg Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based company, founded in 2022 by Manu J. Nair, Shubhayu Sardar, and Prashanth Sharma, is racing toward a bold goal-building a fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle capable of competing on a global stage dominated by players like SpaceX.
This latest round comes just over a year after EtherealX secured $5 million in seed funding, a signal of the growing investor confidence in India’s new-age aerospace ecosystem.
At the heart of EtherealX’s mission is the Razor Crest Mk-1, a fully reusable rocket designed to redefine the economics of space transportation. While early prototypes showcased an 8-tonne capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO), the company now says its medium-lift platform under development can carry up to 24.8 tonnes to LEO and 10.8 tonnes to GTO-numbers that place it among the most promising global contenders in next-generation launch technology.
What makes EtherealX’s approach stand out is the aggressive pace of engineering. Within 3.5 years, the team has already developed the two engines that will power the launch vehicle, including its 80kN reusable upper-stage engine, Pegasus. The company also uses a proprietary Full Flow Segregated Cooling Cycle (FFSCC) and in-house simulation tools, enabling faster iteration, higher reusability, and lower development costs.
With this funding, the startup plans to accelerate the development of Razor Crest Mk-1 and move toward full-scale integration and testing. The long-term goal: reducing the cost of orbital transport to a target range of $500-$1,000 per kilogram, making space access significantly more affordable for global and Indian customers.
EtherealX is also positioning itself within India’s rapidly evolving space-tech ecosystem. The company has signed collaboration agreements with IN-SPACe, ISRO, and international space agencies, along with multiple commercial satellite operators and launch aggregators. These partnerships give it both credibility and access to key infrastructure needed for eventual flight-testing.
With the global space economy expected to touch $1.8 trillion by 2035, EtherealX is attempting something audacious-building a world-class rocket company out of India, betting on engineering innovation, speed, and deep-tech grit. If it succeeds, it could become one of the country’s defining players in commercial space launch and reusable rocket technology.
By: Shivani Solanki
