CEO Elon Musk has gathered fresh funding amounting to nearly $2 billion for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. or SpaceX. This raises the company valuation to $46 billion.
As first reported by Bloomberg, SpaceX has expanded the size of the round due to strong demand, weeks after the successful launching astronauts who orbited to the International Space Station.
According to PitchBook, the recent round was oversubscribed reaching $1.9 billion, the biggest yet for SpaceX. Musk only needs to confirm the regulatory filings submitted on Friday, August 14, which would increase SpaceX's valuation to $46 billion.
Bloomberg Brokerage giant Fidelity Investments was one of the biggest players in the latest round, increasing its existing investments in the company.
Morgan Stanley analysts recently projected that the space economy will be worth at least $1.1 trillion in 2040 after "a string of remarkable feats by SpaceX." The firm noted that the surge of interest from investors in space economy may exceed the "autonomous car frenzy" between 2016 and 2017.
SpaceX has recently completed its most prominent mission yet after the two NASA astronauts returned to Earth earlier this month after their successful journey to the ISS. It was the first manned mission from American soil since 2011.
The two astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, safely arrived back home on August 2 after SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. This momentous event was also the space agency's first water landing since 1975.
"This day heralds a new age of space exploration," Musk said in front of a small group gathered after the successful mission. This event is now the highlight of Musk's 18-year track record for his space exploration company.
SpaceX will launch a bigger group as soon as September as the company prepares for opening tourist flights to the ISS as early as 2021 if the next crewed missions work well.
Read also: Elon Musk Admits He Prayed for the Success of the SpaceX ISS Mission in an Emotional Speech
SpaceX Bags New Contract with US Government
Meanwhile, the company received another $316 million contract with the U.S. government to launch military satellites into orbit that will begin in 2022. SpaceX has beaten Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for this defense contract with the Air Force on August 7.
Bezos' Amazon has recently launched its own satellite internet network. this may trigger a series of battles for government contracts between the two billionaires.
However, Musk's SpaceX may have an advantage as it has been launching satellites in recent months, aside from the recent crewed mission success. With nearly 700,000 potential clients in the U.S., SpaceX seeks for FCC approval to increase its satellites from the current 1 million to 5 million.
As of Tuesday, Musk's net worth is at nearly $85 billion, becoming the fourth richest person after the August 17 surge in Tesla's stock by 11%, adding $8 billion on the CEO's net worth.
With $84.8 billion net worth, Musk is a few billion behind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and world's richest man Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
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Written by CJ Robles
