Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin is raising about ten billion dollars in its first-ever outside funding round, valuing the company at 130 billion dollars. The round marks a significant shift for Blue Origin, which Bezos has funded entirely through sales of his own Amazon stock since founding the company in 2000.
According to CNBC, Bezos himself is contributing two billion dollars to the round. Hedge fund Coatue Management is putting in about four billion dollars. The remaining four billion has drawn strong demand from several major investors expected to participate. The people familiar with the matter asked not to be named because the details are private.
Bezos signaled the move was coming. In May, he told CNBC that the company was considering outside investment, but that it had not happened yet. "It's a good time, actually, to start thinking about the future and bring on some other outside investors," he said.
The fundraising comes shortly after a major moment in the commercial space industry. Elon Musk's SpaceX completed its initial public offering last month, raising nearly 86 billion dollars including the underwriters' option. That made it the largest IPO on record and pushed SpaceX's valuation to about two trillion dollars. The offering also made Musk a trillionaire.
Blue Origin competes with SpaceX across several markets, including heavy-lift rockets, lunar landers, and satellite internet. Musk holds a significant lead in several of those areas. Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO in 2021 and has devoted more attention to Blue Origin since then. In 2024, he said he believed Blue Origin would one day be a bigger company than Amazon.
The company is dealing with a recent setback. In late May, one of its New Glenn rockets exploded on a Florida launchpad during a static hot-fire test. Blue Origin is rebuilding the damaged pad and working to determine the cause of the explosion. Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp have set a goal to return New Glenn to flight before the end of 2026.
That timeline carries real weight. The New Glenn rocket is central to upcoming missions Blue Origin has contracted with NASA. It is also key to launch commitments for Amazon and AST SpaceMobile. Both customers are waiting on the rocket to carry satellites that support their operations.
The ten billion dollar round, once closed, would give Blue Origin a financial base that does not depend on Bezos selling Amazon shares. It would also position the company to compete more aggressively with SpaceX as the commercial space sector continues to grow rapidly.
