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SpaceX $350B Valuation Would Make The World’s Most Valuable Startup
Specialist in global markets, economics and alternative investments.
SpaceX may now be valued at $350 billion, making it the world's most valuable startup. In a tender offer expected to occur later this month, insiders are looking to receive a dramatically higher valuation than the $210 billion figure reported earlier this year.
As a private company, SpaceX does not disclose its financial details publicly. However, industry analysts have made informed estimates regarding its revenue and earnings growth. For instance, Morgan Stanley’s models indicate that a $350 billion valuation would imply a price-to-sales ratio of 23.6 and a price-to-earnings ratio of 308 for 2024. With SpaceX’s rapid growth trajectory, these ratios are expected to decline significantly, with the price-to-sales ratio projected to drop to 5.2 and the price-to-earnings ratio to 24 by 2030.
The space economy is forecast to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035, and with another up-round of fundraising, SpaceX is well positioned to capture a significant share of this expansion. The company’s success is driven by its unmatched technology, vertical integration strategy, and diversified revenue streams, most notably through its satellite internet service, Starlink. Still, the company needs to grow into its lofty valuation, which may be more constrained by regulatory issues than the lack of capital.
Starlink’s Explosive Growth
Starlink is a major contributor to SpaceX’s higher valuation. Starlink’s subscriber base has grown to nearly 5 million users across 114 countries, representing a 100% increase in the past year. This rapid expansion is fueled by the service’s ability to provide high-speed internet to remote and underserved areas.
Starlink is projected to generate $6.6 billion in hardware and subscription revenue in 2024 and reach $3.8 billion EBITDA in 2024, according to a May report from Quilty Space. The service’s expansion into enterprise markets, such as aviation and maritime, further diversifies its revenue streams and challenges competing satellite providers. Customers are attracted to Starlink’s lower latency and higher bandwidth capabilities, forcing other satellite operators to innovate or risk obsolescence.
In addition, the FCC recently approved Starlink for direct-to-cell (DTC) operations on 7,500 second-generation satellites, setting the stage for commercial-scale DTC services in collaboration with partners like T-Mobile by early 2025. With an estimated 6,690 active Starlink satellites currently in orbit, SpaceX represents two-thirds of all operational satellites worldwide, a testament to its dominance in the satellite market.
SpaceX’s launch business is also booming. The company is on track to complete approximately 130 launches in 2024, more than half of all global rocket launches. Its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which has completed over 400 successful missions, remains a critical asset. The company’s ability to reduce launch costs by a factor of 10 over the past two decades has made space more accessible and accelerated the deployment of satellites, both for Starlink and SpaceX competitors.
The U.S. government is one of SpaceX’s largest launch customers, with the Defense Department and NASA dependent on the company’s capabilities. Recently, SpaceX secured a $733.5 million contract to execute nine national security missions over the next two years, securing its leadership in the launch market. These missions include deploying missile detection satellites for the Space Development Agency and reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Despite its successes, SpaceX faces significant hurdles as it balances innovation and regulation. SpaceX’s rapid growth has exposed gaps in existing legal frameworks, prompting calls for updated space laws to address the changing environment. “Regulate industries, make them safe, make them right, but you gotta go much faster,” Shotwell said.
The Political Tightrope
Elon Musk’s growing influence in Washington presents opportunities and risks for SpaceX. His close ties to political leaders could help secure favorable contracts and regulatory leniency, potentially fast-tracking SpaceX’s ambitions for Mars colonization and Starlink’s expansion. Such exuberance could be one factor behind the valuation bump. However, Musk's political influence and estimated 42% ownership of SpaceX subject the company to heightened political scrutiny and the appearance of a conflict of interest, particularly as he navigates his role as a government contractor and a private entrepreneur.
With a robust potential valuation of $350 billion, SpaceX cements its lead in the private space industry. The valuation reflects the power of their vertical integration. The company's strategy to control the entire supply chain, from rocket production to launch services to satellite operation, gives SpaceX a significant competitive advantage.
The record valuation is not just good news for SpaceX employees and existing investors. It is good news for the private equity industry, plagued by two years of fundraising down-rounds and missed growth forecasts. It will undoubtedly create a positive tone to end the year for private markets.
OpenAI - New funding to scale the benefits of AI
October 2, 2024
We are making progress on our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity, and learning. Across industries, businesses are improving productivity and operations, and developers are leveraging our platform to create a new generation of applications. And we’re only getting started.
We’ve raised $6.6B in new funding at a $157B post-money valuation to accelerate progress on our mission. The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems.
We aim to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource. We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone. By collaborating with key partners, including the U.S. and allied governments, we can unlock this technology's full potential.
Cybersecurity presented by Zayda Technologies
STAY INFORMED - Wednesday 31 August 2024
Shattering Time to Detection from Months to Seconds
Detection speed is the holy grail of cybersecurity.
To thwart a cyber attack, an organisation must see when the adversary establishes their initial foothold.
Join cybersecurity veterans and industry experts, Bahram Yusefzadeh and Steve Luebke.
Read more ...Sir Stelios unites the ‘easy’ Family of Brands in Monaco
MONACO, 22 October, 2022 -- Entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has played host to over 100 eager businessmen and women this weekend in Monaco.
As part of a rolling series of similar events, the two-day session on 21st and 22nd October was aimed at businesses that currently trade as part of the ‘easy’ family of brands, founded by Sir Stelios in 1995. Typically, these contain ‘easy’ as a prefix to their company name, including easyJet, easyHotel and easyStorage among others.
easyCapital is a joint venture between the easyGroup and Anglo-Suisse Capital.
More information: https://monacolife.net/sir-stelios-unites-easy-brands-in-monaco/
Read more ...Lakeward and thallos form joint venture to develop a residential area in Schwäbisch Gmünd
Zurich, 13 April, 2022
The ambitious residential quarter development 'Eco Village' in Schwäbisch Gmünd had already taken shape in the form of plans and concepts at the end of 2021. At that time, the project developer, thallos AG, submitted the building application for the residential quarter development with around 300 flats to the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. A forward- looking concept that is intended to harmonise living comfort, an attractive appearance and the highest standards of climate-neutral building. Now, the Real Estate Fund launched by Lakeward Advisory AG in 2021 in cooperation with PMG Investment Solutions AG has founded a joint venture with thallos AG to realise this building project.
Read more ...Lakeward lays foundation stone for new construction project "Ferdinand's Garden" in Berlin-Lichtenberg
Berlin / Zurich, October 29, 2021
Lakeward yesterday laid the foundation stone for the new housing project "Ferdinand's Garden" together with the general contractor PORR and local representatives. The project is located on Ferdinand-Schultze-Strasse in Berlin-Lichtenberg and comprises 395 new apartments.
Ferdinand's Garden is located in Lichtenberg, a district of East Berlin that has experienced steady population growth for years due to continuing inflows from the more expensive, central districts of Berlin. The significant development potential of the area offers Lakeward the opportunity to establish a foothold in the location with a large residential real estate portfolio. The development includes 395 functional and affordable housing units with standard and robust construction standards, as well as 79 rent-controlled units. Occupancy is planned for the end of 2023.
Read more ...Inveniam Acquires Factom to become the 8th largest blockchain patent holder in the US. ahead of Microsoft and Fidelity
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Inveniam Capital Partners, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Factom, an Austin-based blockchain innovations company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With the acquisition, Inveniam acquires nearly 40 fundamental blockchain patents and with its existing patent portfolio, Inveniam becomes the 8th largest US-based blockchain patent holder, ranking just behind Intel and ahead of Microsoft, Fidelity Investments, Capital One, and Bank of America.
Read more ...Another victory for Stelios and the easy family of brands against brand theft!
A further victory for brand protection was delivered in the High Court in London on the 22nd July after Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s easyGroup was granted an injunction preventing a French Caribbean travel agent, Stephane Roche from using the “easyway” brand to promote his tourist services to customers in the UK.
The defendant, Stephane Roche will also have to pay legal costs to easyGroup of around £75k plus damages (based on a share of his profits and or his revenues for the last seven years) for using the easy brand without easyGroup’s permission. The quantum of the damages will be assessed later in the legal process. However, the court ordered that his website be subject to “geo-blocking” so it is not visible in the UK and he is also prohibited from offering his services to UK travel agents, customers with a .co.uk email address or any other customers that make it clear at any point during the transaction that they are located within the UK.
Read more ...Stelios welcomes easyCleaning to the easy family of brands!
easyGroup, the creator and owner of the easy family of brands (www.easy.com ) has today announced another important extension of the brand into household cleaning products.
By joining forces with David Pearce and Darren Mosley of www.easy-cleaning.co.uk, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s well known orange easy logo will be applied on millions and millions of products now sold at supermarkets and convenience shops up and down the UK, typically at significantly lower prices than the high cost brands.
Read more ...easyProperty is raising capital using crowdfunding site Seedrs
easyProperty, the UK hybrid estate agency combining an online presence with the advantage of local experts providing the necessary local touch, is raising capital on Seedrs, the UK’s leading crowdfunding platform. Founded in 2012, Seedrs is one of the UK’s leading equity crowdfunding platforms, which has funded 1,235 deals raising a total of £1 billion.
The easyProperty business was acquired by Evolve Partnership Limited backed by easyGroup founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. It relaunched under its new ownership last year and is now seeking capital to expand its network from 54 local easyProperty partners, extending its geographic territory to cover much of the UK. With the iconic trustworthy easy brand, focus on customer service and value for money, easyProperty is set to be a major player in online estate agency.