Privately held SpaceX is raising new capital at a valuation of $44 billion.
The company, whose chief executive officer is Elon Musk, is in talks with investors to raise $1 billion at a price of $270 per share. SpaceX is a leader in the burgeoning commercial space sector. In May, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule delivered NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, marking the first U.S. space capsule to do so with a crew since 2011.
The funding would help SpaceX begin commercial operations of its Starlink satellite broadband service and conduct suborbital and orbital test flights of its Starship and SuperHeavy booster launch vehicle. SpaceX has said that its Starlink business is going after a $1-trillion total addressable market — including bringing satellite broadband to any location on Earth, to ships at sea and aircrafts in flight.
The rocket company also raised $346.2 million in May at a valuation of $36 billion. Musk is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). Earlier this week, Tesla posted a profit for its fourth straight quarter, a condition for it to be considered for addition to the S&P 500 the stock index, which is comprised of the largest U.S. companies.
Ultimately, SpaceX aims to make interplanetary transportation from the Earth to the moon and Mars a reality with its reusable rockets. The company also has ambitions to use rockets for rapid long-distance air travel on Earth, making long-haul flights in less than an hour.
Tech Insider
