SpaceX To Launch $750 Million Fundraising, Launches First Rocket In 2023
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is raising $750 million in a fresh round of fundraising from investors, valuing the rocket and satellite company at $137 billion. Investors rumored to participate include Andreessen Horowitz, a co-investor in Musk’s Twitter buyout deal worth $44 billion.
According to reports in November, SpaceX was in talks regarding a secondary share offering that could value the business at up to $150 billion, marking a 20% rise in valuation.
In June, SpaceX raised around $1.68 billion in equity funding that included Alphabet and Fidelity Investments as investors.
The funding reports came in as SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the year on Tuesday, carrying 114 smaller satellites and other payloads into orbit in the company’s sixth “rideshare” mission, which is intended to provide low-cost access to space for smaller payloads.
SpaceX has flown numerous cargo cargoes and humans to the International Space Station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke to SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell of his concerns about Musk losing focus on his other companies as he busies himself with his purchase of Twitter.
“Tell me that I don’t have to worry about the distraction at Twitter,” he said to Shotwell.
“I assure you — you don’t have anything to worry about,” Nelson, in an interview with The Washington Post, recalled Shotwell replying.
NASA made a significant bet on Musk’s company in 2021, offering it a roughly $3 billion contract to land astronauts on the moon’s surface by 2025 using its next-generation Starship spacecraft. Since then, SpaceX has received another $1.5 billion contract for a second lunar landing.
While Musk has been on Twitter, SpaceX has maintained its rapid pace, executing three launches in 34 hours last week, one of which was the 15th flight of its reusable Falcon 9 launcher, a record.
“Remember what everybody said? SpaceX was pie in the sky,” Nelson said in the interview. “As we say in the south, the proof’s in the pudding… And look what they’ve done with that one right there, the Falcon 9.”
Starlink, SpaceX’s expanding network of thousands of internet satellites, is aiming to generate significant cash through commercialized applications such as the deployment of high-speed internet on commercial airlines.
Information for this briefing was found via The Washington Post, Reuters, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
