Relativity Space raises $650m in funding, valuation hits $4.2bn
Relativity Space raised $650m through a Series E funding round in a transaction that values the 3D-printed rocket startup at $4.2bn.
A source told TechCrunch that the round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. New investors included: BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, and Soroban Capital. Existing investors such as Baillie Gifford, K5 Global, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto, and Spencer Rascoff all took part as well.
The funds will be used to accelerate production of Terran R, the company’s heavy-lift, fully reusable two-stage rocket. A single Terran R should take around 60 days to build, the company told Reuters.
A debut rocket will conduct its first orbital flight at the end of 2021, while the Terran 1 is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral as early as 2024.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Relativity boss, Tim Ellis, likened 3D printing to a paradigm shift in manufacturing. “I think really the thing people haven’t gotten about our approach, or 3D printing in general, is it’s actually more like transitioning from gas internal combustion engines to electric, or on-premise service to cloud,” Ellis said.
“3D printing is a cool technology but more than that, it’s actually software and data-driven manufacturing and automation technology.”