The modern-day space race just took a major step toward maturity, with Sir Richard Branson's announcement that Virgin Galactic will go public. When it lists later this year, Virgin will become the first publicly traded space-tourism company.
Branson made the announcement Tuesday morning along with the venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, whose Social Capital Hedosophia will act as an SPAC ー essentially a public shell company ー to help take Virgin Galactic public. Social Capital Hedosophia will invest $800 million in Virgin in exchange for a 49 percent stake, according to the the Wall Street Journal.
The offering could help Virgin Galactic operate its first private flights to space, which Branson said are planned for next year. The company says 600 people have already paid a combined $80 million for seats on those flights, which will be short, suborbital launches ー at least at first. Branson is competing with Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk's SpaceX, to see who can send the first tourists into space.
Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic began as a pet project of Branson's but has matured into a legitimate spaceflight company by inventing cheap, innovative ways to launch rockets into the atmosphere, such as via carrier planes. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund had plans to invest $1 billion into the company, but Branson walked away from those discussions after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. It was at that point that he was approached by Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive, who floated the idea of using his SPAC as the vehicle for a public offering for Virgin Galactic, according to the Journal.
In a statement announcing the plans, Branson said: "We are at the dawn of a new space age, with huge potential to improve and sustain life on Earth."
“By embarking on this new chapter, at this advanced point in Virgin Galactic’s development, we can open space to more investors and in doing so, open space to thousands of new astronauts.”
Bambu Ventures's Kyle Pretsch dives into Lemonaid’s $10M buyout, down from 23andMe’s $400M price tag, and what’s next after Chrome Co.’s dramatic pivot.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
Grove Collaborative’s CEO shares how the company is reinventing everyday goods with sustainability at the core and working toward a plastic-free future.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens shares plans for affordable housing, community-led growth, and why private and public grocery stores could be key to food equity.
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
Tom’s Guide Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer breaks down Apple & Amazon's latest product drops—what's hot, what's hype, and what really matters for users.
