The Guild (formerly known as EtherealX), a Bengaluru-based spacetech startup, has successfully raised $20.5 million in its Series A funding round. The round was co-led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, with participation from a stellar lineup of investors including Accel, Prosus, YourNest, Campus Fund, BlueHill, and Riceberg.
This investment marks a massive 5.5x jump in valuation, placing the company at $80.5 million. To date, The Guild has secured a total of $25.5 million to support its mission of creating the world’s first fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle.
Rearchitecting the High Frontier
The funding will accelerate the development and flight qualification of the Razor Crest Mk-1. Designed as a workhorse for Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), the rocket aims to slash launch costs to an unprecedented $500 per kilogram.
Unlike current “partially reusable” systems where only the booster returns, The Guild is engineering both the lower and upper stages to return safely for reuse, a feat aimed at establishing a new cost baseline for global space access.
Razor Crest Mk-1 Capabilities:
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LEO Payload: Up to 24.8 tonnes
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GTO Payload: Up to 10.8 tonnes
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Innovation: Utilizes a “Full-flow Segregated Cooling Cycle” (FSCC) to manage the extreme thermal demands of second-stage reusability.
“Stallion” and “Pegasus”: The Engines of Reusability
The Guild has already developed two proprietary engines in just 3.5 years. With the new capital, the team will begin a rigorous testing phase:
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The Stallion: A 1.2MN reusable semi-cryogenic engine—touted as the world’s most powerful in its class—to power the booster stage.
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The Pegasus: An 80kN engine designed for the upper stage.
Strengthening National Infrastructure: BASE-001 & BASE-002
To maintain its aggressive flight timelines, The Guild is expanding its physical infrastructure across South India:
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BASE-001 (Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu): Continued operations for testing the Pegasus engines, featuring turbopump testing capabilities exceeding 35,000 RPM.
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BASE-002 (Space City, Andhra Pradesh): A new, large-scale facility commissioned for integrated stage and engine firing, additive manufacturing, and flight qualification for the Stallion booster.
“Securing the backing of a strategic partner like TDK Ventures validates our vision to rearchitect today’s unipolar access to space into a truly multipolar frontier,” said Manu Nair, Co-Founder and CEO of The Guild.
By: Vanshika Tayal
