The Starship prototype SN9 starts at the company’s development facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX
SpaceX closed another $ 850 million Monster equity financing round last week, people familiar with the financing told CNBC.
The company raised the new funds at $ 419.99 per share, these people said – or just a dime below the $ 420 price tag Elon Musk infamous for in 2018 when he said he “secured the funding” to Tesla to take privately.
The latest increase also means company valuation is up about 60% from the previous round in August when SpaceX raised nearly $ 2 billion on a valuation of $ 46 billion.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ceremoniously raises his arms beneath a prototype Starship rocket under construction in Boca Chica, Texas.
Steve Jurvetson on flickr
In addition to further building a war chest for SpaceX for its ambitious plans, insiders and existing investors were able to sell an additional $ 750 million in a secondary transaction, one respondent said.
In particular, SpaceX has raised only part of the funding available in the market. One person told CNBC that the company received “insane demand” of approximately $ 6 billion in offers in just three days.
Cash for Starlink and Starship
The contents of the Starlink customer kit, which includes the satellite dish, stand, power adapter, and wireless router.
SpaceX
The recent inflow of funds is due to SpaceX developing two capital-intensive projects at the same time.
Starlink is his ambitious project to build an interconnected Internet network of thousands of satellites, known in the aerospace industry as a constellation, designed to deliver high-speed Internet to consumers around the world. SpaceX’s leadership previously estimated that Starlink would cost at least $ 10 billion to build, but believe the network could raise up to $ 30 billion a year – or more than ten times its annual revenue existing missile business.
SpaceX has launched more than 1,000 satellites for Starlink to date and has begun serving customers in the US, Canada and the UK early in a public beta. The company recently expanded the scope of this public beta to allow potential users to pre-order Starlink service for $ 99. Pre-order messages tell users that SpaceX is “targeting coverage in your region by mid-to-late 2021,” while others are stating pre-orders in 2022.
The company announced in a statement from the Federal Communications Commission last week that Starlink had “over 10,000 US and international users” in just over three months since public beta began.
Musk also reiterated last week that SpaceX plans to eventually outsource Starlink and bring it to the public. He said Starlink “needs to cross a deep negative cash flow gap over the next year or so.”
“As soon as we can predict the cash flow reasonably well, Starlink will go public,” said Musk.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket is another ambitious endeavor. The company is constantly building and testing prototypes in Boca Chica, Texas. The company has successfully launched several Starship prototypes and safely landed them after short flights at approximately 500 feet. Despite multiple development milestones, the two most recent high-altitude flights exploded on impact during landing attempts.
The Starship prototypes are made of stainless steel. The company’s aim is to develop a missile system that is reusable, similar to a commercial aircraft. SpaceX is developing Starship with the aim of launching cargo and up to 100 people simultaneously on missions to the moon and Mars.
Despite the explosive end to the last two flights, SpaceX has viewed the launches as advancing the rocket’s development. The next Starship prototype is on the company’s launchpad. SpaceX is expected to attempt another test flight in the coming weeks.
Starship’s SN9 (right) and SN10 prototype missiles on launch pads at the company’s development facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX
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