Bengaluru-based spacetech startup The Guild, formerly known as EtherealX, has raised USD 20.5 million in a Series A funding round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital.

Other investors participating in the round include Accel, Prosus, Yournest, Campus Fund, BlueHill, and Riceberg.

Following the funding, the company’s valuation has increased 5.5 times to USD 80.5 million. With this round, The Guild’s total funding so far stands at USD 25.5 million.

The company said the fresh capital will be used to advance the development and flight qualification of its launch vehicle, Razor Crest Mk-1.

Razor Crest Mk-1 is being developed as a medium-lift, fully reusable launch vehicle designed to serve missions to Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). According to the company, the rocket is intended to significantly reduce launch costs, with a target of USD 500 per kilogram. Unlike partially reusable launch systems, where only the booster is recovered, The Guild is designing both the lower and upper stages to return safely after launch for reuse.

The rocket is expected to carry payloads of up to 24.8 tonnes to LEO and up to 10.8 tonnes to GTO. One of its key technical features is a propulsion system based on a Full-flow Segregated Cooling Cycle (FSCC), which the company says is aimed at managing the thermal demands of upper-stage reusability.

Founded in 2022 as Ethereal Exploration Guild, the company has developed two engines to power its fully reusable vehicle. These include Stallion, a 1.2 meganewton reusable semi-cryogenic engine for the booster stage, and Pegasus, an 80 kilonewton engine designed for the upper stage. Fully reusable, in this context, means that both stages of the rocket are designed to be recovered and flown again.

As part of the next phase of development, The Guild will begin engine-level and stage-level testing. This includes testing the booster stage of its Technology Demonstrator Vehicle, powered by the Stallion engine, as well as validating the upper stage and its FSCC-based propulsion system.

The company is also expanding its testing and manufacturing infrastructure in South India. It plans to commission a new facility, BASE-002, at Space City in Andhra Pradesh, which will support integrated engine and stage firing, qualification, and refurbishment. BASE-002 will complement the existing BASE-001 facility in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, which continues to support testing of the Pegasus engines.