Space technology company Ethereal Exploration Guild, known as EtherealX, has secured $20.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate development of its fully reusable launch vehicle, Razor Crest Mk-1. The round brings together a strong mix of strategic and financial investors and signals rising confidence in India’s private launch ecosystem.
The Series A round features co-lead investors TDK Ventures and BIG Capital. Prominent venture firms Accel and Prosus joined the round alongside YourNest Venture Capital, BlueHill Capital, Campus Fund, and Riceberg Ventures.
This milestone follows EtherealX’s $5 million seed round in August 2024. YourNest Venture Capital led that earlier raise, with participation from BIG Global Investments JSC, BlueHill Capital, Campus Fund, Golden Sparrow Ventures, and individual investors Karan Bhagat, Yatin Shah, Kiran Shetty, and Akhilesh Agarwal.
Razor Crest Mk-1 anchors EtherealX’s strategy
EtherealX plans to channel the new capital into the development of Razor Crest Mk-1, its first fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle. The company positions this rocket as a direct challenger to established global launch providers, including SpaceX, by focusing on cost, cadence, and reusability.
The Razor Crest Mk-1 design targets the ability to deliver payloads across multiple orbital regimes. EtherealX expects the vehicle to place up to 24.8 tonnes into low Earth orbit and up to 10.8 tonnes into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The architecture also supports missions to trans-lunar injection trajectories, which opens doors for lunar logistics and deep-space exploration missions.
By pursuing full reusability across both stages, EtherealX aims to compress turnaround times and reduce refurbishment costs. The team believes this approach will unlock frequent launch schedules for commercial satellite operators and national space agencies.
Founders combine engineering depth with bold vision
Entrepreneurs Manu J. Nair, Shubhayu Sardar, and Prashanth Sharma founded EtherealX in 2022. The trio brought together experience across propulsion, systems engineering, and aerospace program management.
Since inception, the founders have emphasized vertical integration. The company builds engines, structures, avionics, and software in-house. This philosophy allows tighter control over performance targets and development timelines. Within three and a half years, the team completed development of two rocket engines that will power the two stages of the vehicle.
Proprietary engine cycle drives efficiency
At the heart of EtherealX’s differentiation sits its proprietary Full Flow Segregated Cooling Cycle (FFSCC). This rocket engine feed cycle underpins the reusable upper stage and supports higher thermal margins and improved durability. EtherealX designed the cycle to handle repeated flights without extensive teardown or replacement.
The company has already manufactured its 80 kN upper-stage reusable engine, Pegasus. Engineers built Pegasus to support multiple ignitions and long operational life. EtherealX pairs this hardware with in-house simulation tools and dedicated test infrastructure, which together enable rapid iteration and data-driven design improvements.
This tightly coupled hardware-software approach shortens development cycles and strengthens reliability, according to the company’s leadership.
Aggressive cost targets reshape launch economics
EtherealX aspires to disrupt the global launch market by lowering orbital transport costs to between $500 and $1,000 per kilogram. That target undercuts many existing medium-lift offerings and directly appeals to the growing small-satellite and constellation market.
Reusable architecture plays a central role in this cost model. By recovering and reflighting both stages, EtherealX expects to amortize manufacturing costs across multiple missions. The company also emphasizes simplified operations and standardized mission profiles to further compress expenses.
As satellite constellations expand for Earth observation, communications, and navigation, launch providers that deliver predictable pricing and flexible scheduling will gain a strategic edge.
India’s private space ecosystem gains momentum
EtherealX operates from Bengaluru, a city that has emerged as a hub for India’s private space sector. Regulatory reforms and policy support have encouraged startups to enter launch, satellite manufacturing, and downstream services.
The company has signed collaboration agreements with Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre and ISRO. These partnerships provide access to technical expertise, testing facilities, and regulatory guidance. EtherealX also works with other national space agencies, commercial satellite operators, launch aggregators, and launch ports across the globe.
Such collaborations strengthen credibility with customers and investors while accelerating readiness for orbital missions.
Market timing aligns with global growth
Market research points to a rapidly expanding space economy. Analysts project the global space economy to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, driven by satellite broadband, climate monitoring, defense applications, and space exploration. Launch services form the backbone of this ecosystem, since every orbital asset depends on reliable access to space.
Medium-lift vehicles occupy a critical niche. They balance payload capacity with mission flexibility, which suits constellation deployment and rideshare missions. EtherealX’s focus on full reusability positions the company to capture value as customers demand lower costs and higher launch frequency.
Looking ahead to flight readiness
EtherealX now enters a capital-intensive phase that will test execution discipline and engineering rigor. The company plans to advance integrated vehicle testing, expand engine qualification campaigns, and prepare infrastructure for recovery operations. Leadership also intends to deepen commercial engagements with satellite operators and mission planners.
If EtherealX meets its technical and economic targets, Razor Crest Mk-1 could redefine how emerging space nations access orbit. The latest funding round gives the startup both resources and validation to pursue that ambition at scale.
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