TDK Ventures and Accel to Support India’s EtherealX to Promote Reusable Launch Vehicles: Sources | TechCrunch

Ethereal Exploration Guild, an Indian space tech startup better known as EtherealX — which is developing a fully reusable medium-altitude launch vehicle — is poised to raise about $21 million in a new funding round co-led by TDK Ventures, with Accel among the participants, TechCrunch has learned.

Initially planned as a $15 million Series A round, the round has attracted strong investor demand and is now expected to reach about $20.5 million, three people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The funding comes more than a year after the startup raised a $5 million seed round in August 2024.

TDK Ventures is leading the round together with Vietnam-based venture capital firm BIG Capital, in which Accel also participates, the sources said.

The funding talks follow EtherealX securing $130 million in contracts from six customers, the sources told TechCrunch, underscoring early commercial demand for its launch services.

Founded in 2022 by Manu J. Nair along with former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist Shubhayu Sardar, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer, and aerospace engineer Prashant Sharma, the Chief Technology Officer, EtherealX aims to take on SpaceX with a medium-lift launch vehicle called Razor Crest Mk-1. The rocket, designed to be fully reusable, is expected to be able to deliver up to eight tons to low Earth orbit and will also be capable of delivering payloads to geostationary transfer and trans-lunar injection orbits.

The Bengaluru-based startup says its launch system will provide customers with cost-efficiency while helping address a global shortage of launch capacity, with an initial launch planned for early 2027.

In an interview with TechCrunch last year, Nair said EtherealX’s rocket could offer launch prices ranging from about $350 to $2,000 per kilogram. By comparison, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 typically charges between $1,600 and $2,000 per kilogram.

“At the price point where we will enter the market, we will be able to comfortably capture 30% to 40% of it,” Nair said at the time.

India has emerged as one of the few countries in the world with a geographic and regulatory advantage for space launches, offering access to multiple orbital ramps from a single launch site. The growing space tech ecosystem is also attracting global investors looking for markets that can complement space development in the United States, Europe and other key regions.

EtherealX has secured 16 hectares of land in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which it plans to make operational early next year. The startup has also developed key components including a liquid oxygen (LOX) turbopump for its upper stage engine, known as Pegasus 2.0, according to a recent LinkedIn account. after from Nair last week.

India aims to dramatically expand its footprint in the global commercial space industry. aim for a market share of 8% to 10% over the next decade from less than 2% now, with much of that growth expected to be driven by private startups. The country is working towards a $40-45 billion space economy within the next eight to 10 years, Indian Space Minister Jitendra Singh said recently.

Nair declined to comment. TDK Ventures, Accel and BIG Capital did not respond to requests for comment.