Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is reportedly kicking off a $10 billion fundraising round that values the rocket company at $130 billion, hot on the heels of last month’s historic IPO for Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The deal, reported by DealBook, would expand Blue Origin’s investor base beyond the deep-pocketed Bezos for the first time, reducing his need to bankroll the pricey endeavor by selling Amazon stock.
The financing, which already has big name backers onboard, shows investor interest in fueling the space race beyond Musk’s SpaceX, which has billions of fresh capital in its coffers after its blockbuster public listing last month.
Blue Origin builds rockets and serves as a launch provider to both commercial satellites and NASA, including working with the space agency to develop a lunar lander.
Asset management giant Coatue is expected to lead the round with a $4 billion investment, DealBook reported.
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.
