Is Baiju Bhatt a Space Cadet or an Energy Visionary?
By Goldsea Staff | 26 Nov, 2025

The Robinhood co-founder is betting on orbital solar power and laser-beamed electricity to reshape how energy is delivered to Earth.

When Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire co-founder of Robinhood, announced in late 2024 that he was turning his attention from finance to orbital energy, skepticism was immediate.

(Image by Grok)

Space-based solar power had lived for decades in the realm of futuristic theory and shelved government studies. Bhatt’s new company, Aetherflux, proposed to revive the concept by beaming solar power from satellites in low Earth orbit directly to Earth using lasers. To many, it sounded like a billionaire’s science fiction indulgence. Yet the company’s rapid fundraising, defense backing, and concrete 2026 demonstration plans suggest something more serious is underway. The question now is whether Bhatt is chasing a cosmic fantasy, or attempting one of the most ambitious energy experiments of the century.

Deep Space Roots

Bhatt’s fascination with science predated his financial success by decades. Born in the United States to Indian immigrant parents, he grew up in Virginia in a household deeply connected to aerospace research. His father worked as a scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, exposing Bhatt early to aviation, engineering, and big, unsolved problems. Long before stocks or startups entered his world, space and physics shaped his imagination.

That early interest matured into formal training at Stanford University, where Bhatt earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in mathematics. It was there that he met Vlad Tenev, another mathematically gifted student frustrated by inefficiencies in the financial system. After graduation, the two built high-frequency trading infrastructure for hedge funds and banks, gaining firsthand insight into how institutions enjoyed near-frictionless access to markets while retail investors faced high costs and barriers.

Robin Hood Renegade

Robinhood emerged from that imbalance. Founded in 2013, the app promised commission-free stock trading through an intuitive mobile interface. Bhatt shaped the product philosophy and user experience, pushing for simplicity and accessibility. The platform spread rapidly among young investors and ultimately forced nearly the entire brokerage industry to abandon per-trade commissions. Robinhood’s success transformed Bhatt into a billionaire and reshaped retail investing itself.

But success brought controversy. The 2021 GameStop trading frenzy triggered political backlash and regulatory scrutiny. Critics accused Robinhood of encouraging speculation and gamifying risk. Congressional hearings followed. Bhatt maintained a lower public profile than Tenev but remained central to the company’s identity. Over time, he stepped back from daily operations, leaving his executive role in 2024 while retaining a board position. For Bhatt, that exit marked not a retreat, but a pivot.

Aetherflux Ambition

Aetherflux became his next act. The company’s core mission is to deploy satellites in low Earth orbit that collect solar energy and transmit it to Earth using infrared lasers. On the ground, compact receivers would convert the beam back into usable electricity. The initial target markets are not urban power grids, but locations where conventional energy is difficult or risky to supply, including disaster zones, military installations, remote research sites, and industrial operations.

The idea of harvesting solar power in space is not new, but it has always been economically and logistically daunting. Earlier concepts relied on enormous satellites stationed in geostationary orbit and microwave transmission to massive ground antennas. Those systems required colossal upfront investment and faced daunting regulatory hurdles. Aetherflux aims to solve those problems through modularity. Instead of gigantic platforms, the company envisions many smaller satellites in low Earth orbit. Instead of sprawling microwave fields, it plans to deploy relatively small ground receivers.

In 2025 Aetherflux raised approximately 50 million dollars in a major funding round, bringing total capital to around 60 million dollars with Bhatt’s own investment included. Its backers include major venture firms, prominent technology investors, and defense-linked funding. Most notably, the U.S. Department of Defense provided early support through a program focused on energy resilience. That endorsement reflects serious institutional interest in the ability to deliver reliable power without fuel convoys or fragile grid infrastructure.

The company’s most critical milestone is scheduled for 2026 when it plans to launch a demonstration satellite capable of collecting solar power and transmitting it to a ground station on Earth. If successful, the test would mark a historic first for laser-based space-to-Earth energy transmission at operational scale. It would not prove economic viability, but it would establish technical credibility.

The challenges facing Aetherflux remain formidable. Each step in the energy chain introduces inefficiency. Solar panels convert only a portion of sunlight into electricity. That electricity must then be converted into laser energy, transmitted through the atmosphere, captured, and converted back into electrical power. Losses accumulate at every stage. For the system to compete with terrestrial alternatives, these losses must be reduced enough to make the delivered energy affordable for real customers.

Complications of Low-Earth Orbit

Low Earth orbit also introduces complications.  Satellites periodically pass through Earth’s shadow, requiring onboard energy storage that adds mass and cost. Satellite lifespans are limited, meaning constellations must be replenished and maintained. Orbital congestion and debris risks grow with every new launch. Ground stations must meet strict safety regulations, especially when laser transmission is involved. Any misalignment could raise concerns about aviation safety, wildlife impact, or civilian exposure.

Market risk compounds the technical risk. Space-based solar power may make sense for specialized applications, but for civilian electricity consumers, terrestrial solar combined with batteries continues to fall in cost. Distributed renewables, microgrids, and regional power storage systems are improving rapidly and benefit from existing regulatory frameworks. Aetherflux must prove not only that its technology works, but that it offers a compelling economic advantage in specific high-value markets.

Bhatt’s track record offers both encouragement and caution. Robinhood demonstrated his ability to identify structural inefficiencies, raise capital, scale platforms rapidly, and withstand regulatory firestorms. At the same time, it illustrated the dangers of deploying disruptive systems faster than regulators and consumers can adapt. Space-based energy carries far higher safety stakes than mobile trading apps. The room for error is extremely small.

Devoting Technology to Expanding Access

Yet Bhatt brings more than capital to the venture. His training in physics and mathematics gives him deep comfort with complex, probabilistic systems. His upbringing around aerospace research cultivated long-term thinking. Most importantly, his experience navigating one of the most regulated industries in the world—finance—may prove invaluable as Aetherflux enters the equally complex domain of space, defense, and energy policy.

There is also a philosophical consistency underlying his career. Both Robinhood and Aetherflux revolve around access. Robinhood focused on opening financial markets to underserved participants. Aetherflux targets energy access in places where traditional infrastructure struggles or fails. In both cases, the ambition is not merely to improve efficiency, but to reshape who gets access to critical systems and under what conditions.

So is Baiju Bhatt a space cadet indulging in billionaire audacity, or an energy visionary advancing the next frontier of infrastructure? At this stage, he is neither fully one nor the other. The presence of elite investors, defense funding, and a concrete technical roadmap strongly suggest Aetherflux is not a vanity project. At the same time, the physics, economics, and regulatory hurdles remain so severe that failure is a real possibility.

The defining moment will arrive with the 2026 demonstration. If Aetherflux succeeds in delivering measurable, reliable power from orbit to Earth, the narrative will shift dramatically. The debate will no longer hinge on whether space-based solar is possible, but on how quickly it can scale. If the demonstration falters, or the delivered power proves too costly or unreliable, Aetherflux may join the long list of ambitious energy concepts that failed to cross from theory into practicality.

Bhatt’s second act is unfolding in real time. His journey from Stanford physics student to fintech disruptor to orbital energy entrepreneur defies conventional career arcs. Whether history labels him a space cadet or an energy visionary will depend less on his ambition than on the performance of machines now being designed, tested, and prepared for launch. For now, his wager stands as one of the boldest infrastructure bets of the early 21st century.