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Space X has raised $750m (£627m) in a funding round that has valued the venture at $137bn (£114bn), according to CNBC.
Elon Musk’s reusable rocket maker and satellite internet company is currently raising more capital in a funding round that is reportedly being led by Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z.
The company had previously invested in SpaceX, alongside Founders Fund, Sequoia, Gigafund and others, and participated in Musk’s controversial Twitter acquisition.
Musk’s SpaceX was the first private company to send humans into orbit and its constellation of over 3,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit and ground terminals has recently exceeded one million subscribers and provided a lifeline to users in Ukraine who suffered infrastructure disruptions after Russia’s invasion.
In 2022, the company raised over $2bn (£1.67bn) in funding and was valued at $127bn (£106bn) during an equity round in May, according to CNBC.
In November, Reuters reported SpaceX was planning to allow insiders to offer their shares for sale in the secondary market at a valuation of up to $150bn (£125bn). A month later, Bloomberg reported that the company had settled at a slightly lower valuation of around $140bn (£117bn) or $77 (£64.3) per share.
The company is currently continuing the development of its Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles at the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, and is supporting Nasa with several of its projects, including the possibility of rescuing an astronaut and two cosmonauts with Russia’s Roscomos, after a leak was detected on the International Space Station (ISS).
The company has also collaborated with the US security forces for its intelligence missions. SpaceX won its first military contract in 2016, to provide launch services for the National Security Space Launch’s predecessor, and in 2020 the company won a 40 per cent share of a contract with the US Department of Defense to launch payloads of classified Space Force missions between 2022 and 2027.
SpaceX’s founder, Musk, has recently been at the centre of widespread controversy over his $44bn (£38bn) takeover of Twitter, which resulted in large-scale layoffs and massive changes to the platform’s content moderation policies.
In light of these criticisms, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson recently asked SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell whether Musk’s “distraction” as the new owner and CEO of Twitter might affect SpaceX’s work with the space agency. Shotwell, however, told Nelson there was “nothing to worry about.”
In December, Musk’s run as the world’s richest person ended as he was overtaken by Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.
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