TDK Ventures, Accel set to back India’s EtherealX in reusable launch vehicle push: sources | TechCrunch

Ethereal Exploration Guild, an Indian spacetech startup better known as EtherealX — developing a fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle — is close to securing 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, the round has drawn 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 co-leading the round with Vietnam-based venture capital firm BIG Capital, with Accel also participating, the sources said.

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

Founded in 2022 by Manu J. Nair alongside former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Shubhayu Sardar, who serves as chief operating officer, and aerospace engineer Prashant Sharma, the chief technology officer, EtherealX is aiming 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 Bengaluru-based startup says its launch system will offer cost efficiencies to customers while helping to address a global shortage of launch capacity, with a first launch targeted 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 at which we will enter the market, we’ll comfortably capture 30% to 40% of it,” Nair said at the time.

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

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

India is aiming to dramatically expand its footprint in the global commercial space industry, targeting an 8% to 10% market share over the next decade from less than 2% today, with much of that growth expected to be driven by private startups. The country is working toward a $40 billion to $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.