Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin raises first exteral funding at $130 billion valuation

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin is raising about $10 billion in its first-ever external fundraising round, valuing the rocket maker at $130 billion, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter.According to CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bezos is expected to invest $2 billion in the funding round, while hedge fund Coatue Management is set to contribute around $4 billion. The remaining $4 billion has seen significant demand, with several major investors expected to participate, the people said. The details of the fundraising remain private.

The funding round comes on the heels of Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO last month, which raised nearly $86 billion, including the underwriters’ option, making it the largest IPO on record and minting Musk a trillionaire.
In May, Bezos told CNBC that Blue Origin was “considering” outside investment, saying, “It’s a good time, actually, to start thinking about the future and bring on some other outside investors.”Founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin is a private American aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company. The company develops heavy-lift rockets, lunar landers and orbital infrastructure, with a long-term goal of enabling large-scale space exploration.