Funding · Government, Defense & Space

EtherealX raises $20.5M for reusable rocket

By Startup Enthusiast · 16 January 2026

What they do

EtherealX builds fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicles

It raised $20.5M in Series A co-led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital

The company plans commercial launches from 2028 and targets $500-$1,000 per kg

EtherealX raised $20.5M (about INR 185 Cr) in Series A funding.
The round was co-led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital.
Participating investors included Accel, Prosus, YourNest Venture Capital, BlueHill Capital, Campus Fund, and Riceberg Ventures.
The company plans to use the funds to design and test its fully reusable launch vehicle.
It aims to conduct engine hot-fire tests by mid-2026.
A technology demonstration flight is planned for late 2027.
The company targets commercial launch missions from 2028, starting with five to six missions a year.
EtherealX also plans to introduce small modular nuclear reactors in the near future.

India's private spacetech ecosystem is gathering momentum.
Spacetech startups raised a record $157M last year, up 94% from $81M in 2024.
The Indian spacetech market is projected to cross $77B by 2030.
The global space economy is expected to touch $1.8 trillion by 2035.

EtherealX is building a fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle called Razor Crest Mk-1.
The rocket uses nine Stallion booster engines and 15 Pegasus upper-stage engines.
It can carry 24.8 tonnes to low Earth orbit (LEO) in expendable mode and about 8 tonnes fully reusable.
The company has developed two engines in-house: the Stallion booster engine and the Pegasus upper-stage engine.
It uses a proprietary Full Flow Segregated Cooling Cycle (FFSCC) and in-house simulation tools.
EtherealX secured 150 acres in Andhra Pradesh for manufacturing and testing rocket engines.
The site has direct road access to ISRO's spaceport in Sriharikota.
The company signed launch agreements worth $130M with customers including Japan's SpaceBD and Taiwan's TASA.
It has collaboration agreements with IN-SPACe, ISRO, and international space agencies.

Product: Razor Crest Mk-1, a fully reusable medium-lift orbital rocket powered by proprietary Stallion and Pegasus engines
Customers: Satellite operators, space defense agencies, and commercial payload enterprises
How it makes money: Charges commercial and defense customers fee-per-launch for orbital payload delivery
What sets it apart: Full reusability of both booster and upper stages to dramatically lower payload launch costs
Operations: In-house rocket engine manufacturing, hot-fire testing facilities, and launch demonstration programs