SpaceX Is Now Valued at $21 Billion By Daniel Liberto | July 28, 2017 — 5:34 AM EDT
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There is one more reason for fans of Elon Musk to believe everything the man touches turns to gold. SpaceX, the rocket maker founded by the technology entrepreneur and best known for wanting to colonize mars, is now worth an estimated $21 billion, making it one of the most valuable privately held companies in the world.
SpaceX’s valuation has nearly doubled after it was injected with millions of dollars of new financing. Equidate, a website that provides financial data on privately held companies, confirmed that SpaceX raised $350 million from its latest fund raiser, leading its valuation to soar to $21.2 billion. The company, which makes the majority of its money from sending commercial satellites into space, declined to comment. (See also: How SpaceX Reinvented the Rocket Launch Industry.)
According to The New York Times, the last time SpaceX received major funding was in 2015. Back then, Fidelity and Google (GOOGL) pumped $1 billion into the company, bringing the rocket maker’s valuation up to around $11 billion.
The newspaper, citing data from research firm CB Insights, added that the near doubling of SpaceX’s valuation since then means it is now one of seven venture-capital backed company’s worth in excess of $20 billion.
Four of these six other companies are said to be based in the United States. Topping the list is ride-hailing giant Uber, which is reportedly worth nearly $70 billion. Hospitality service AirBnb, We Work, a provider of shared workspaces, and analytics firm Palantir also made the cut.
The two other privately held companies worth more than $20 billion are ride-hailing specialist Didi Chuxing and consumer electronics maker Xiaomi, both of which are based in China.
SpaceX has encountered several setbacks since first being introduced to the world by Musk in 2002. The company initially struggled to meet many of its lofty promises and was then shrouded in further controversy last September when one of its Falcon 9 rockets caught fire and exploded while refueling on its launch pad.
Since then SpaceX has managed to restore its reputation, emerging as a cost-effective provider of trips to the International Space Station. The company has devised ways to reuse parts of its rockets, making launches much cheaper, and has already executed 10 successful take-offs so far this year. (See also: SpaceX Makes History By Landing Reusable Rocket Again.)
According to CNN Money, Falcon 9 launches have a sticker price of $62 million, making them at least $38 million cheaper than competitors.
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