Blue Origin is raising $10 billion in its first-ever outside funding round, at a pre-money valuation of $130 billion, according to the New York Times DealBook.
The round is expected to be led by Coatue Management, which has committed approximately $4 billion
An additional $2 billion will come from Bezos personally, while large institutional investors are expected to account for the remaining $4 billion. According to CNBC, the last portion of the raise has drawn strong interest, with a number of high-profile investors expected to join. Bezos had hinted at the move during a May appearance on CNBC. “We finally have enough visibility into our future and our financial success,” Bezos said at the time. “It’s a good time actually to start thinking about the future and bring on some other outside investors.” The round comes weeks after SpaceX’s initial public offering, which raised approximately $86 billion and valued Elon Musk’s company at roughly $1.75 trillion, making it the largest IPO globally, according to Reuters.
SpaceX’s debut has broadly energized the space investment landscape, pushing up the valuation benchmarks that private aerospace companies can command. Bezos established Blue Origin in September 2000, and the company has historically relied on him as its sole financial backer. NASA and the U.S.