Jeff Bezos’s aerospace venture, Blue Origin, is reportedly embarking on a significant fundraising initiative worth $10 billion. This effort values the rocket company at a staggering $130 billion, coming right after the groundbreaking IPO of Elon Musk’s SpaceX last month.
According to a report from DealBook, this financial move would diversify Blue Origin’s investments beyond Bezos’s substantial resources, allowing him to lessen his reliance on Amazon stock sales to fund the high-cost enterprise.
The financing plan, which has already attracted prominent investors, highlights a growing interest in bolstering the space sector beyond SpaceX. Musk’s company recently secured a large influx of capital following its successful public offering.
Blue Origin is renowned for its rocket manufacturing and launch services, catering to both commercial satellite operators and NASA. The company is also actively collaborating with the space agency on the development of a lunar lander.
As reported by DealBook, the round is expected to be spearheaded by Coatue, a leading asset management firm, with a substantial investment of $4 billion.
Bezos’ family office is already a major investor in Coatue’s Innovative Strategies Fund, which focuses on emerging technology startups.
Bezos is expected to put another $2 billion into Blue Origin, while the remaining $4 billion is anticipated to come from large institutional investors.
The Amazon founder hinted at the fundraising effort in May.
“We finally have enough visibility into our future and our financial success,” Bezos told CNBC. “It’s a good time actually to start thinking about the future and bring on some other outside investors.”
Outside capital would give Blue Origin a formal market valuation, making it easier to attract future investors and capital.
Bezos previously said he believes Blue Origin could one day be worth more than Amazon.
But recent months have seen some setbacks for the company.
One of its rockets blew up on a Florida launch pad in May. While there were no reported injuries, the explosion cost Bezos about $150 million.
Prior to that, Blue Origin blasted a customer’s satellite into the wrong orbit. The April incident sent the client company’s stock tumbling.
Still, Bezos’ space firm has big investments on the horizon.
Blue Origin could spend nearly $5 billion this year alone after investing roughly $28 billion since its founding in 2000, analysts told the Financial Times in May.
The company is still chasing SpaceX, which raised more than $85 billion in its IPO that valued the rocket and AI giant at $1.77 trillion. SpaceX is now worth nearly $2 trillion, despite its shares having slipped since going public.