SpaceX — Startup Profile

Making life multiplanetary

HQ: Hawthorne, CA, United States | Founded: 2002 | Employees: 13,000+ | Stage: Late Stage Private (Pre-IPO) | Website: https://www.spacex.com

About

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk in Hawthorne, California — now transitioning its headquarters to Starbase, Texas — with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. The company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, achieving the first privately funded liquid-propellant rocket to reach orbit (Falcon 1, 2008), the first private spacecraft to dock with the ISS (Dragon, 2012), and the first orbital-class rocket landing and reuse (Falcon 9, 2015). Its manifest now exceeds 130 launches per year, capturing over 80% of global mass to orbit.

SpaceX operates two complementary businesses: launch services powered by Falcon 9 ($67M per launch), Falcon Heavy, and the next-generation fully reusable Starship/Super Heavy with Raptor engines; and Starlink, the world's largest satellite constellation delivering high-speed broadband to 5M+ subscribers across 100+ countries via 7,000+ satellites. Starlink generated ~$8B of SpaceX's $13B 2024 revenue and is the company's profit engine, funding $3B+ in annual Starship development while Dragon continues to serve NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo programs.

The Take

SpaceX at $350B (December 2024 tender at $185/share) is the most valuable private company ever — nearly double its $210B valuation from mid-2024 and up from $255B just weeks earlier — driven by Falcon 9's cadence monopoly, Starlink's $8B revenue scale, and Starship's promise. With $13B in 2024 revenue (61% from Starlink), 7,000+ satellites on orbit, 5M+ subscribers in 100+ countries, and 130+ launches in 2024 alone, SpaceX has turned reusable launch into a flywheel that bankrolls Mars-class hardware while discussions of a $400B valuation in July 2025 signal even further private-market appetite.

Key Metrics

Latest Valuation: $350B (Dec 2024 tender, $185/share)
July 2025 Valuation Talks: $400B (in discussions)
Total Funding: $15B+
Revenue (2024): $13B ($8B Starlink)
Starlink Subscribers: 5M+
Satellites on Orbit: 7,000+
Employees: 13,000+
Founded: 2002

Funding Rounds

Round: $20M (2008-08-01) — Founders Fund
Round: $1B (2015-01-20) — Google, Fidelity Investments
Round: $500M (2018-04-01) — Fidelity Investments
Round: $346M (2020-03-01) — Fidelity Investments
Round: $850M (2021-02-16) — Sequoia Capital
Round: $750M (2022-05-31) — Andreessen Horowitz, Valor Equity Partners
Round: $750M (2023-07-15) — Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund
Round: $1.25B (2024-12-11) — SpaceX (buyback $500M), Sequoia, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Valor

Key People

Elon Musk
Gwynne Shotwell
Bret Johnsen
Mark Juncosa
Sarah Walker

Key Competitors

Blue Origin —
United Launch Alliance (ULA) —
Rocket Lab —
Arianespace —
Amazon Kuiper —
OneWeb (Eutelsat) —

Timeline Highlights

2024-12-11: $350B tender offer — world's most valuable private company
2023-04-20: Starship first integrated flight test
2020-05-30: Crew Dragon Demo-2: first private human spaceflight to ISS
2015-12-21: First orbital booster landing (Falcon 9 Flight 20)
2012-05-25: Dragon first private spacecraft to dock with ISS
2008-09-28: Falcon 1 becomes first private liquid rocket to reach orbit
2002-03-14: SpaceX founded by Elon Musk in Hawthorne, CA

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