Aetherflux Hires Skadden Palo Alto Leader as COO/CLO as It Advances Space-Based Solar and Orbital AI Data Center Plans

New updates have been reported about Aetherflux.

Aetherflux has strengthened its executive bench by appointing former Skadden Palo Alto managing partner Joe Yaffe as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer, a dual role that puts him in charge of global operations, legal, and regulatory affairs as the company scales its space-based solar and orbital compute ambitions. The move follows Aetherflux’s recently closed $90 million Series A financing and comes as the company targets Q1 2027 for the inaugural launch of its “Galactic Brain” orbital data center, designed to deliver energy-intensive compute in space for artificial intelligence workloads. Founder and CEO Baiju Bhatt framed the hire as a strategic step to navigate complex growth and regulatory challenges at the intersection of energy, space, and AI infrastructure, emphasizing Yaffe’s track record advising high-growth technology businesses on governance, transactions, and compensation.

Yaffe’s transition from a leading legal advisory role into an operating position signals Aetherflux’s intent to build robust organizational and regulatory foundations ahead of commercialization of space-based solar power and orbital compute networks. Based at the company’s San Carlos, California headquarters, he will help steer execution on two critical roadmaps: (1) the development of a satellite constellation that harvests solar energy in space and beams it to Earth via infrared lasers, with a first satellite launch planned in 2026 to demonstrate wireless power transmission from low Earth orbit, and (2) the “Galactic Brain” orbital data center platform, which aims to sidestep the five- to eight-year development cycles of terrestrial data centers and address AI’s surging power demand. Aetherflux, founded in 2024 and backed by Index Ventures, NEA, and other investors, is positioning its technology both for resilient power delivery to remote and contested environments and for scalable AI infrastructure in orbit, with Yaffe tasked with building the operational backbone and regulatory pathways to bring these systems to market.