Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is reportedly initiating a significant $10 billion funding round that would value the company at around $130 billion. This comes on the heels of SpaceX’s notable IPO last month.
According to DealBook, this round would diversify Blue Origin’s investment sources, reducing its dependency on Bezos selling Amazon stocks to raise funds.
Prominent backers are already in the mix, reflecting growing interest in the space race, especially in the wake of SpaceX’s recent financial success.
Blue Origin is known for manufacturing rockets and serving as a launch provider for commercial satellites and NASA, including developing lunar landers in collaboration with space agencies.
Coatue, a major wealth management firm, is expected to spearhead this funding round with a contribution of $4 billion.
Bezos’ family office is already a notable investor in Coatue’s Innovation Strategies Fund, which targets emerging tech startups.
In addition to this, Bezos plans to invest an extra $2 billion into Blue Origin, while institutional investors are anticipated to contribute the remaining $4 billion.
Back in May, Bezos indicated the possibility of this fundraising effort, expressing confidence in the company’s future economic success.
The infusion of external capital could provide Blue Origin with a formal market valuation, which may prove beneficial in attracting future investors.
Bezos has previously suggested that Blue Origin could one day be valued higher than Amazon.
However, the company has faced some challenges in recent months. In May, a rocket explosion at a Florida launch pad resulted in approximately $150 million in damages, although no injuries were reported.
Additionally, Blue Origin misfired a customer’s satellite into the wrong orbit in April, which led to a significant drop in the stock prices of the client companies involved.
Despite these setbacks, Blue Origin is not making any drastic investment decisions at the moment. Analysts reported that the company has invested around $28 billion since its inception in 2000 and is projected to spend nearly $5 billion this year alone.
In comparison, SpaceX has managed to raise over $85 billion in its IPO, achieving a valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion. It now stands close to a $2 trillion valuation, even with a recent decline in stock prices following its public offering.
