Rocket Lab has announced a successful Series E financing round. The small lunch vehicle provider has secured $140 million in funding to begin aggressively scaling its production of Electron rockets.
Following the successful launch of their “It’s Business Time” mission, Rocket Lab released the details of a successful Series E financing round. Although only announced after the launch, Rocket Lab officials have confirmed that the funding had been secured in advance of the company’s second orbital mission.
“It has been a big year for Rocket Lab with two successful missions to orbit and another about to roll out to the pad, but it’s even more significant for the global small satellite industry that now has a fully commercial, dedicated ride to space,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO.
The round included a total of $140 million in additional funding from a number of different investors. The investment round was led by existing Rocket Lab backers Future Fund. Current investors Greenspring Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, DCVC, K1W1, and Promus Ventures all contributed additional funding. The round also featured the inclusion of a new investor, the Accident Compensation Corporation of Australia.
To date, Rocket Lab has secured over $288 million in funding. As of the last round, it is believed that the company was valued at more than $1 billion.
In a press release published on the company’s website, Rocket Lab officials outlined how the additional funding would be utilised. In addition to ramping up Electron vehicle production, the $140 million will be used to open facilities at new launch sites and fund three new major research and development projects. The exact nature of the three new R&D projects is as-yet unknown.
