Robinhood's co-founder is beaming up (and down) the future of energy
Fresh off a $50 million Series A raise, Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt is going all-in on space-based solar power. His new startup, Aetherflux, wants to launch solar power-collecting satellites into low Earth orbit, with a demo flight set for 2026, and to transmit clean energy back down to Earth.
Bhatt sat down with Rebecca Bellan on TechCrunch's Equity podcast to talk about his jump from fintech to frontier tech, what it takes to build a deep tech company from the ground up, and where investor interest in the space economy stands in 2025.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
Why Bhatt thinks now is the time for space-based solar
How Aetherflux is thinking about fundraising and scaling
And Bellan and Bhatt's idea for a Burning Man light show (yes, really)
Bhatt also joined us on stage at StrictlyVC Menlo Park last month — and if you missed it, don't worry. StrictlyVC is coming to Palo Alto; you can join the waitlist here.
Equity will be back tomorrow with a special rundown ahead of the long weekend here in the U.S., so stay tuned!
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
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