Indian SpaceX rival EtherealX hits 5x valuation as it readies engine tests

Indian space technology startup Ethereal Exploration Guild, better known as EtherealX, has increased its valuation by roughly 5.5 times to $80.5 million following its latest funding round. The Bengaluru-based company is developing a fully reusable launch vehicle and preparing to conduct engine hot-fire tests ahead of its first technology demonstration flight, targeted for 2027.

EtherealX confirmed that it has closed an oversubscribed $20.5 million Series A round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, as previously reported by TechCrunch. Other participants in the round include Accel, Prosus, YourNest, BlueHill, Campus Fund, and Riceberg Ventures. The funding follows a $5 million seed round in August 2024 that valued the startup at $14.6 million.

As India seeks to expand its space ecosystem beyond small launch vehicles and component manufacturing, aiming to grow its space economy from $8 billion to $45 billion over the next decade, EtherealX is among the startups attracting increased attention.

Global satellite operators are seeking greater launch capacity and scheduling flexibility in a market dominated by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which has set the standard for launch cadence and pricing. EtherealX is positioning itself in this market with a fully reusable launch vehicle designed to recover both the booster and the upper stage. If successful, this approach could lower per-launch costs and increase flight frequency without relying on an in-house satellite constellation.

The company is developing two rocket engines internally: the 80-kilonewton Pegasus upper-stage engine and the 1.2-meganewton Stallion booster engine. Hot-fire testing for both engines is scheduled for June and July. Thrust, measured in kilonewton or meganewtons, is the lifting force an engine produces.

EtherealX is targeting a November–December 2027 launch window for its technology demonstration vehicle, with commercial missions expected to begin toward the end of 2028, according to co-founder and CEO Manu J. Nair.

The Pegasus engine delivers a vacuum-specific impulse of 323 seconds. It useswhat the company describes as a proprietary full-flow segregated cooling cycle, along with an in-house additively manufactured turbopump. The Stallion booster engine employs a gas-generator cycle and provides 306 seconds of sea-level specific impulse.

EtherealX’s additively manufactured turbopump assembly is designed for the upper-stage engine.

Image Credits: EtherealX

For its medium-lift vehicle, Razor Crest Mk-1, EtherealX plans to cluster nine Stallion engines on the booster and 15 Pegasus engines on the upper stage. Unlike Falcon 9, which typically reuses only the first-stage booster, EtherealX aims to recover both stages of its rocket.

The vehicle is designed to carry up to 24.8 tons in an expendable configuration, 22.8 tons in a partially reusable configuration, and approximately 8 tons in a fully reusable configuration. EtherealX is targeting launch pricing between $350 and $2,000 per kilogram, depending on configuration and flight cadence.

To support development, EtherealX operates a rocket engine test facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, known as Base 001, which is focused on upper-stage engine qualification. The company has also secured a 150-acre manufacturing and testing campus in Andhra Pradesh’s proposed space city, expected to become operational by mid-2026 for integrated engine and stage testing.

EtherealX has signed launch memoranda of understanding totalling approximately $130 million with customers, including Japan’s Space BD and Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), as it works to secure early commercial demand ahead of its first demonstration flight.

The newly raised capital will be used to complete flight qualification of the Stallion booster engine and to conduct clustered firing tests of the Pegasus upper-stage engines. EtherealX currently employs 67 people and expects to grow its workforce to around 90 in the coming months as it scales manufacturing and increases testing activity ahead of its first launch.