Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin is seeking to raise $10 billion from outside investors for the very first time, according to a Wednesday report from the New York Times DealBook. The fundraising effort values the company at $130 billion before the new funds are counted.
The move comes at a time when investor enthusiasm for space companies has spiked, largely driven by the recent initial public offering from rival SpaceX, which reignited excitement across the aerospace sector and pushed up expectations for what privately held space firms are worth.
According to the report, major asset manager Coatue Management is expected to lead the investment round with a $4 billion commitment. Bezos himself is also expected to chip in an additional $2 billion of his own money.
Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
For context, SpaceX made its public market debut at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion after raising approximately $86 billion — a figure that made it the largest IPO in the world. That fundraising was used to advance Elon Musk’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and space exploration.
Blue Origin was founded by Bezos in September 2000, about a year and a half before Musk launched SpaceX in 2002. Until now, the company has been funded almost entirely by Bezos, who is also the founder of Amazon.
The company has secured multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA and the U.S. Space Force, including work tied to the Artemis lunar program and national security launch missions. Despite those wins, Blue Origin still lags significantly behind SpaceX in both launch frequency and revenue.
While SpaceX has built a major revenue stream through its Starlink satellite internet service, Blue Origin’s business is focused primarily on launch services, rocket engines, and government space contracts.
The company did face a significant setback earlier this year — its New Glenn rocket, which is comparable in size to SpaceX’s Starship, blew up during a ground test in May. Blue Origin has said it expects to return to launching rockets before the end of the year.
