Spacetech startup EtherealX’s valuation jumps 6X in Series A

As the Indian spacetech sector has seen a rise in funding in recent times, space technology company Ethereal Exploration Guild (EtherealX) recently announced a $20.5 million Series A round led by existing investor BIG Capital, with participation from TDK Ventures, Accel, Prosus, YourNest Venture Capital, BlueHill Capital, Campus Fund and Riceberg Ventures.

While the Bengaluru-based company did not disclose any details beyond the amount and investors, Entrackr reviewed regulatory filings to determine its valuation, round breakup and complete shareholding.

According to its filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), EtherealX’ board has passed a resolution to approve the issue of 9,763 Series A preference shares at an issue price of Rs 1,87,920 each to raise Rs 183.4 crore (approximately $20.5 million).

Existing investor BIG Capital will lead the round with an investment of Rs 53.7 crore ($6 million), followed by TDK Ventures, which will invest Rs 44.7 crore ($5 million). YourNest Venture Capital and BlueHill Capital will each contribute Rs 26.85 crore ($3 million). The remaining capital will be infused by Campus Fund, Accel, Prosus (via MIH Ventures One B.V.), Riceberg Ventures, and Kicksky Lab.

Notably, the company has already received around Rs 87.4 crore ($9.7 million), with the remaining funds expected to be infused shortly.

According to Entrackr’s analysis, EtherealX’s post-money valuation will jump sixfold to Rs 720 crore (around $80 million), compared to Rs 120 crore when it raised $5 million in seed funding from Yournest, BIG Capital and others in August 2024.

Co-founded in 2022 by Manu J. Nair, Shubhayu Sardar, and Prashanth Sharma, 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 place up to eight tonnes into low Earth orbit and will also be capable of delivering payloads to geostationary transfer and trans-lunar injection orbits.

The proceeds from the funding will be used to develop its first fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, Razor Crest Mk-1, according to the company.

Following the allotment of the Series A round, BIG Capital will emerge as the largest external shareholder with a 12.11% stake, followed by YourNest Venture Capital at 11.64%. Campus Fund, BlueHill Capital and TDK Ventures will hold 10.25%, 8.38% and 6.21%, respectively, while Accel and Prosus will each own 0.62%. The company’s co-founders Manu J. Nair, Shubhayu Sardar and Prashanth Sharma will each retain a 13.04% stake.

For the fiscal year ended March 2025, the company remained in the pre-revenue stage and did not report any operating revenue, but recorded Rs 1.1 crore in non-operating income, including gains from mutual funds and a government grant. During FY25, it reported a loss of Rs 4.2 crore.

Several space tech startups have raised capital over the past 12 months, including Digantara, which raised $50 million, CoreEL Technologies with $30 million, and Agnikul with $17 million. Others include Inspecity, Manastu Space, Sisir Radar, OrbitAid, Pixxel, Ulook, and Akashalabdhi.