EtherealX, a space venture based in India, has accumulated a $5 million fund in its initial funding phase. The company aims to design and launch completely reusable medium-size spacecraft, which could revolutionize the process of satellite deployment in terms of both cost and time.
The frequency of space launches has seen a notable surge recently. For instance, SpaceX, a bellwether in the industry, has a packed schedule till 2026, even though it operates on a ride-sharing model to maximize efficiency.
Moving to the Electric Vehicle (EV) segment, Lucid Motors is receiving a fresh investment injection from Saudi Arabia, as it pushes to overcome its financial struggles. The EV trailblazer shared this development as part of its Q2 earnings announcement.
The source of the new funds happens to be an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which has committed to invest another $1.5 billion. Among these funds, half are being funneled through a private placement, while the remainder is being offered as a loan facility.
This marks the second instance where Lucid Motors has solicited financial assistance from Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that previously in March 2024, Lucid’s CEO, Peter Rawlinson, expressed concerns while speaking to the Financial Times about depending excessively on the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
Turning our attention to the tech domain, Google has decided to challenge a U.S. District Court ruling that criticized its monopolistic practices in the online search market. This noteworthy blow to the tech behemoth could potentially reset its business operations and could lead to significant transformations in the structure of the digital world if this decision is upheld.
Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia delivered the verdict. In his deliberations, Mehta stated that Google exploited its monopolistic dominance in the search engine market. This exploitation was manifested, in part, by compensating companies like Apple to set Google as the default search engine on their devices and internet browsers.