(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is in talks to raise new capital at a valuation of about $44 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company, better known as SpaceX, is in discussions with investors to raise about $1 billion at a price of $270 a share, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The round would value the company at about $44 billion, before taking into account the new capital, they said.
The funding is unlikely to be completed within the next couple months and terms could change, one of the people said.
SpaceX didn't respond to requests for comment.
Any new funding would follow a slew of earlier rounds. The most recent funding effort was for $500 million at a valuation of $36 billion, or $220 a share, according to a CNBC report in March.
At a roughly $44 billion valuation, SpaceX would rank as one of the most valuable venture-backed companies in the U.S.
In a research report dated July 20, Morgan Stanley said the company ultimately could be worth as much as $175 billion. The bank said it remains “focused on the needs and sources of capital for SpaceX as a potential catalyst to increase the relevance of space for public investors.”
Morgan Stanley said SpaceX has raised about $3.5 billion to date, and estimates about $50 billion of free cash flow burn from 2019 to 2032, before its satellite internet business, Starlink first generates free cash flow in 2033.
SpaceX's investors include Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Google, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford and Valor Equity Partners.
NASA Partnership
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been a key partner and customer for the Hawthorne, California-based company.
In May, two U.S. astronauts reached the space station on a SpaceX capsule, marking the first time humans have launched into orbit on a commercially developed craft. The two are set to return Aug. 2. A cargo-only version of SpaceX's Dragon capsule makes regular runs to the space station.
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