The Guild raises $20.5M in Series A round led by TDK Ventures, BIG Capital; co's valuation jumps 5.5x
The spacetech startup is building what it describes as the world’s first fully reusable medium-lift rocket, aimed at lowering the cost of orbital access and expanding launch capacity for commercial and government customers.
Spacetech startup The Guild, formerly known as EtherealX, has raised $20.5 million in a Series A funding round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital.
The round also saw participation from Accel, Prosus, Yournest, Campus Fund, BlueHill, and Riceberg.
Following the fundraise, the Bengaluru-based company’s valuation has increased 5.5x to $80.5 million. With this round, The Guild’s total funding to date stands at $25.5 million.
The startup is building what it describes as the world’s first fully reusable medium-lift rocket, aimed at lowering the cost of orbital access and expanding launch capacity for commercial and government customers.
“Securing the backing of a strategic partner like TDK Ventures validates our vision to rearchitect today’s unipolar access to space into a truly multipolar frontier, and catalyze civilisational progress,” said Manu Nair, Co-Founder and CEO, Ethereal Exploration Guild.
He added, “Their expertise in avionics, hardware optimisation to reduce latency, and high-performance components will strengthen our hand as we push the Razor Crest Mk-1 toward rapid development and flight qualification. With their support, we are confident to hit our aggressive timelines, unlock meaningful launch flexibility, and establish a new cost baseline for orbital access.”
Razor Crest Mk-1 is the company's medium-lift fully reusable launch vehicle under development. According to the company, it can carry up to 24.8 tonnes into the Lower Earth Orbit and up to 10.8 tonnes into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
Founded in 2022, Ethereal Exploration Guild has built two engines that will power the two stages of its full-reusable vehicle. 'Fully reusable' means both the lower and upper stages of the rocket return safely
after the launch and can be reused again. The idea is to bring down costs and make launches more efficient, says the company.
As part of the next phase, The Guild will begin a series of engine and stage-level tests. This includes testing the 1.2 MN booster stage of its Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (TDV), powered by Stallion, which the company says is the world’s most powerful reusable semi-cryogenic engine.
The upper stage of the TDV and its full-flow segregated cooling cycle—a propulsion feed cycle designed to enable second-stage reusability—will also undergo validation, said the company.
The company will additionally commission BASE-002 at Space City in Andhra Pradesh, a new facility intended for integrated stage and engine firing, booster and upper-stage qualification, and refurbishment activities. BASE-002 will complement the BASE-001 facility in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, which will continue to support testing of the company’s 80 kN Pegasus engines.
“TDK Ventures is thrilled to back The Guild in its goal to reshape the medium-lift space launch industry,” said Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures.
He added, “The company aligns seamlessly with our vision for transformative innovation, excelling in every critical metric for market leadership: slashing launch costs to $500 per kilogram to unlock vast market potential, pioneering novel technologies to streamline development, and harnessing India’s rich ISRO expertise and cost-efficient supply chain."
The Guild positions its testing infrastructure as nationally strategic. BASE-001 supports semi-cryogenic propulsion testing, including turbo-pump testing beyond 35,000 RPM, while BASE-002 is designed for end-to-end engine and stage manufacturing, qualification, and flight readiness, backed by large-scale additive manufacturing and cryogenic turbo-pump testing up to 24,000 RPM. Together, the facilities are expected to support both domestic and international launch requirements.
Edited by Swetha Kannan