SpaceX has raised $1.02 billion in funding in the first half of 2019 alone. The funds will be key to the company’s ambitious goal of providing global broadband internet coverage with a network of almost 12,000 satellites.
The $1.02 billion in funding was raised over two equity rounds and revealed by CNBC on May 24. SpaceX had initially sought $500 million in a January equity round and $400 million in April. According to the company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk, both rounds were oversubscribed with investor interest resulting in the company raising over $100 million more in funding than expected.
During a call with the media hours before the launch of the first 60 Starlink satellites, Musk stated that he believed that SpaceX could potentially gain as much as a 3% share of the $1 trillion international broadband internet market. This would result in potential earnings of $30 billion a year, which, if true, would arguably make the $1 billion cash injection from investors a bargain at twice the price.
Although much of the California-based launch provider’s attention over the next two years will be focused on Starlink, the network is a means to an end for SpaceX. Musk has stated that he plans to reinvest the revenue generated by Starlink to “develop more and more advanced rockets and spaceships.”
