Billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, which is also parent to his artificial intelligence startup xAI, has confidentially submitted draft initial public offering (IPO) filings, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources. If it goes through, this will become the biggest-ever listing, beating Saudi Aramco’s debut in 2019.
SpaceX has filed its registration to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), sources told the publication. This puts the company on track for a June listing ahead of AI rivals Anthropic PBC and OpenAI, it added. All three are hyped for mega public debuts on the US stock markets this year.
A spokesperson for SpaceX did not immediately respond to queries, the report added.
What is the valuation of SpaceX’s IPO?
SpaceX could seek a valuation in the IPO of more than $1.75 trillion, people familiar with the matter have said. The company acquired Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI in a deal that valued the enlarged entity at $1.25 trillion.
In a confidential filing, companies can receive feedback from the regulator and make changes before the information becomes public. Details of the offering including the number of shares to be sold and the price range are expected to be disclosed in a later filing.
A listing for SpaceX would raise as much as $75 billion, Bloomberg News has reported. At that size, it would dwarf the current record holder, Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion debut in 2019.
In a memo, SpaceX said it’s preparing for a possible IPO in 2026 that would be aimed at funding an “insane flight rate” for its developmental Starship rocket, artificial intelligence data centers in space and a base on the moon.
SpaceX has lined up Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley for senior roles on the IPO, people familiar with the matter have said, and has added more banks to the lineup.
The company is considering a dual-class share structure in the IPO that would potentially give insiders such as Musk extra voting power to dominate decision making, Bloomberg News has reported.
The world’s most prolific rocket launcher, SpaceX dominates the space industry with its Falcon 9 rocket that lifts satellites and people to orbit. The company is focused on building out a base on the moon before pursuing its long-held mission of sending humans to Mars, Musk has said.
SpaceX is also the industry leader in providing internet services from low-Earth orbit through Starlink, a system of thousands of satellites that serves millions of customers.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)