# Baiju Bhatt

> Baiju Bhatt co-founded Robinhood, the zero-commission trading app that put stock buying on a phone screen and made him one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the US. In 2024 he walked away from finance to chase the idea he grew up with: power and machines in orbit. His company, founded as Aetherflux and rebranded in 2026 as Cowboy Space Corporation, started by trying to beam solar energy to Earth with infrared lasers and has since aimed higher - building rockets and AI data centers that live in low Earth orbit. The son of a NASA scientist, Bhatt is a physicist and self-taught product designer who keeps picking old, stubborn problems and bringing capitalism to them.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Cowboy Space Corporation (formerly Aetherflux)
- **Organizations:** Cowboy Space Corporation, Aetherflux, Robinhood
- **From:** Poquoson, Virginia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Physics, Stanford University, M.S. in Mathematics, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Robinhood, which popularized commission-free trading and reshaped retail investing, Won an Apple Design Award (2015) for the Robinhood app's design, Named to Fast Company 'Most Creative People' (2017) and Fortune '40 Under 40' (2018)

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Earns master's in mathematics from Stanford, where he met Vlad Tenev
- **2013** — Co-founds Robinhood with Vlad Tenev to build a zero-commission stock trading app
- **2015** — Robinhood app launches; wins an Apple Design Award for its interface
- **2018** — Becomes a billionaire after a funding round values Robinhood near $6 billion; named to Fortune 40 Under 40
- **2020** — Steps down as co-CEO of Robinhood, becomes Chief Creative Officer
- **2024** — Leaves Robinhood executive role (retains board seat); founds Aetherflux to pursue space-based solar power
- **2025** — Aetherflux raises $50M Series A led by Index Ventures and Interlagos; demonstrates power beaming in the lab
- **2026** — Rebrands Aetherflux as Cowboy Space Corporation, raises $275M Series B at a $2B valuation, expanding to orbital data centers and rockets

## Achievements

- Co-founded Robinhood, which popularized commission-free trading and reshaped retail investing
- Won an Apple Design Award (2015) for the Robinhood app's design
- Named to Fast Company 'Most Creative People' (2017) and Fortune '40 Under 40' (2018)
- Became one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the US
- Raised $60M total for Aetherflux including a $50M Series A to develop space-based solar power
- Raised a $275M Series B as Cowboy Space Corporation at a ~$2B valuation for orbital data centers and rockets

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Aetherflux rebrands as Cowboy Space Corporation and raises a $275M Series B at a ~$2B valuation, expanding into orbital data centers and rocket development; announces the 'Stampede' LEO constellation.
- **2025-09** — Appears at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 to discuss the leap from Robinhood to space; reiterates plan for a 2026 power-beaming demonstration mission.
- **2025-04** — Aetherflux closes a $50M Series A led by Index Ventures and Interlagos, with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and NEA participating.

## Links

- Website: https://aetherflux.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bprafulkumar
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/BaijuBhatt
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realbaijubhatt/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/baiju-bhatt
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14