SpaceX, the rocket maker and satellite internet company founded by Elon Musk, plans to raise $750 million in a new round of funding that values it at $137 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, is expected to lead the funding round, CNBC reported, citing documents it obtained.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was offering to sell insider shares at a price that would raise the company's valuation to about $140 billion. It was offering the shares for $77 apiece, sources said.
The $140 billion figure compares with a $127 billion valuation in July, according to data provider PitchBook.
SpaceX, which counts Alphabet and Fidelity Investments among its investors, raised about $1.68 billion through equity financing in June.
The company has been sending astronauts to the International Space Station under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Programme.
The initiative has allowed government astronauts and private citizens to launch from US soil again, after depending on Russia’s Soyuz rocket for more than a decade.
Its next flight for Nasa — the Crew-6 mission — is scheduled for launch in spring.
It includes UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who will serve as a mission specialist aboard the Dragon spacecraft.
SpaceX is working with other private US companies that work towards making space accessible to a wider international community.
It is also building a constellation of thousands of Starlink satellites to provide broadband internet cover to remote and rural locations on Earth.
A Starlink kit has “everything you need to get online in minutes”, the company says. Users who sign up for the service receive a kit that includes the Starlink terminal and base, a router, a power supply source and cables.
The residential Starlink package costs $110 a month, with a one-time hardware fee of $599.
SpaceX told US regulators last year that Starlink users had surpassed 400,000.
Starlink has been a key means of communication used by Ukraine’s military forces in its conflict with Russia in areas that don’t otherwise have cellular service.
In October, Mr Musk told the Pentagon that SpaceX could not fund the Starlink system in Ukraine indefinitely.
“The hell with it,” Mr Musk then tweeted. “Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.”
Mr Musk is the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, behind Bernard Arnault.
The index puts the Tesla chief executive's wealth at $137 billion, after having declined by 49 per cent over the past year.
Mr Musk owns 42.2 per cent of SpaceX through a trust, according to a December 2022 filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
HOW TO WATCH
Facebook: TheNationalNews
Twitter: @thenationalnews
Instagram: @thenationalnews.com
TikTok: @thenationalnews
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 592bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Price: Dh980,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
match info
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')
Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')
Man of the match Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
