Blue Origin is seeking about $10 billion (€8.7 billion) in its first external funding round, which would bring the company’s market valuation to $130 billion. According to reports from CNBC, Jeff Bezos plans to invest $2 billion of his own wealth, while Coatue Management, a hedge fund, is expected to contribute $4 billion. The final $4 billion has already attracted considerable interest from various prominent investors.
This move towards external financing follows the historic stock market listing of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which recently raised nearly $86 billion. That listing made SpaceX the most successful in history, increasing the value of the company to around $2 trillion and significantly boosting Musk’s wealth.
In May, Bezos had already indicated to the media that he was open to attracting new investors in order to secure the organisation’s long-term prospects.
Since stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, Bezos has shifted his primary focus to Blue Origin, a venture he founded two decades ago. Although the company competes with SpaceX in areas such as satellite Internet, moon landing technology and heavy-lift rockets, it currently lags behind Musk’s company in several categories.
Until now, Bezos had financed the space company solely by selling Amazon shares, though he has stated that he believes Blue Origin will eventually surpass Amazon in size.
The company is in the process of recovering from a technical malfunction at the end of May, when a New Glenn rocket exploded during a test on a launch pad in Florida. Extensive work is underway on the investigation into the accident and the reconstruction of the facility.
Undeterred, CEO Dave Limp and Bezos are aiming to resume flight operations by the end of 2026. The New Glenn rocket remains crucial for fulfilling contracts with NASA and with commercial customers such as AST SpaceMobile and Amazon.
Business AM
Ltd
