Blue Origin Seeks $10 Billion In First Outside Funding Round

Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin LLC, is launching its first external fundraising round to secure approximately $10 billion. People familiar with the matter state that the transaction values the rocket maker at $130 billion before the new investment.

Credit: Blue Origin

The New York Times' DealBook first reported the fundraising plans on Wednesday. Hedge fund Coatue Management LLC plans to lead the round with a $4 billion commitment.

Bezos himself will contribute an additional $2 billion to the financing round. The remaining $4 billion has generated strong demand from several major investors who expect to participate.

The transaction ends an exclusive self-funding era for the company, which Bezos bankrolled alone for 25 years. Outside investors will own a slice of the company for the first time, receiving roughly a 7.7% stake.

Representatives for Blue Origin and Coatue Management declined to comment on the funding talks. The details remain private as negotiations continue.

The funding push follows the initial public offering (IPO) by chief competitor SpaceX last month. The SpaceX offering raised nearly $86 billion and valued Elon Musk's company at approximately $2 trillion.

Blue Origin competes with SpaceX for contracts from NASA and the U.S. Space Force. The company secured deals for the Artemis lunar program and national security launch missions.

The fundraising arrives at a delicate operational period for Blue Origin. A New Glenn rocket exploded on a Florida launchpad during a static hot-fire test in late May.

The company is currently rebuilding the damaged launchpad and investigating the cause of that explosion. Blue Origin intends to resume New Glenn flights before the end of the year.

The heavy-lift rocket completed its first successful launch in January 2025. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated in April that the company originally targeted up to a dozen launches this year.

In January, Blue Origin paused flights of its smaller New Shepard rocket, which transports space tourists on brief zero-gravity trips. Management shifted focus to the development of its lunar lander and other moon technologies.

The company also plans to build TeraWave, a low-Earth orbit communication network utilizing more than 5,400 satellites. Blue Origin schedules the first TeraWave satellite launch for late next year.

Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021 to dedicate more daily attention to his space operations. He previously stated his belief that Blue Origin would eventually surpass the size of Amazon.

Blue Origin maintains a business model focused on heavy launch services, rocket engines, and government space contracts. SpaceX relies heavily on its Starlink satellite internet division to generate recurring commercial revenue.

The current fundraising follows separate operational changes regarding payment options. Blue Origin began accepting multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, for its suborbital consumer flights last August.