A long exposure photo showing the path of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it launches into space on December 11, 2022, with the rocket’s return and landing paths visible to push.
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Elon MuskThe reusable rocket maker and satellite internet company, SpaceX, is raising $750 million in a new round of funding, valuing the company at $137 billion, according to correspondence obtained by CNBC.
Last month, Bloomberg First reported that SpaceX is allowing insiders to sell for $77 a share, which would bring the company’s valuation to nearly $140 billion. The company raised more than $2 billion in 2022, including a $250 million round in Julyand valued at $127 billion in an equity round in the MayCNBC previously reported.
According to an e-mail sent to potential SpaceX investors, Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z) will likely lead the new funding round. SpaceX’s early investors include Founders Fund, Sequoia, Gigafund, and many others.
A16z also joins Elon Musk’s leveraged buyback of Twitter, a $44 billion deal that ended in late October 2022.
SpaceX and a16z did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last year, SpaceX hit several new milestones but faced delays to its Starship program, part of NASA’s effort to return astronauts to the moon.
On the other hand, the company’s satellite internet service, Starlink, has exceeded 1 million subscribers and provides relief to users in Ukraine who suffered infrastructure disruptions following the Russian invasion. SpaceX also passed 60 reusable rocket launches in a year through its Falcon program.
The company is currently continuing to develop the Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. It’s unclear when the company will move on to the next step of the program, which requires orbital launch testing of these larger vehicles.
As Musk repeatedly spoke out about geopolitical issues on Twitter, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently asked SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell if his “distraction” as a CEO Twitter’s new owner and CEO could influence SpaceX’s work with the space agency. NBC News reported. Nelson says Shotwell reassured him that wasn’t going to happen.
NASA is currently looking into whether SpaceX can help rescue residents of the International Space Station, including an astronaut and two cosmonauts from Russia’s Roscomos. according to CNET. The Russian Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak in December, and an investigation is underway to determine if the spacecraft was able to bring the crew home safely or if it was necessary. implement alternative emergency measures or not.
