Google And Fidelity Acquire Nearly 10 Percent Of SpaceX Stake With $1 Billion Investment
Inquisitr reported yesterday that Google was on the verge of investing $1 billion in Elon Musk’s SpaceX program to provide global Internet access through a constellation of low-orbit satellites, and now the NY Times has confirmed in a report that the Internet giant has, along with Fidelity, commit to a $1 billion investment in Space Explorations Technologies.
Musk’s private space company’s recent billion dollar investment offers the company cash to continue exploring while Gogole Inc. and Fidelity Investments receive a nearly 10 percent stake in SpaceX, according to a report on Bloomberg.
Google is in a race to spread Internet access around the world while it continues to search for new ways to boost its users and sell more more digital advertising. Bloomberg reports that teaming up with SpaceX could provide the Mountain View, California-based company with an edge over rivals working on projects to provide Internet services to underserved regions of the world. Facebook is working on the development of a project which will provide such service through the use of drones, satellites, and lasers.
Google has pursued solar-powered drones and high-altitude balloons as means through which the tech company can provide Internet access to the remote regions of the planet. More people using the Internet provides more opportunity for the Internet titan to attract new users to their array of Internet-based services. The company hired a veteran of the satellite industry back in 2013, Greg Wyler, who later left the company in the summer of 2014 and is now pursuing the development of his own satellite based Internet venture. Forbes reported Wyler’s satellite Internet company to be OneWeb Ltd., while Bloomberg made reference to the company as WorldVu Satellites Ltd., which is back by chip maker Qualcomm Inc. and Virgin Group.
Fidelity and Google have joined an elite group of SpaceX owners which include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Valor Equity Partners, Capricorn, and Founder Fund.
The recent $1 billion investment by Google and Fidelity places the company’s valuation at a minimum of $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who could not be identified due to the private nature of the matter, Bloomberg reported.
Marco Caceres, the director of space studies at Teal Group, said it was “likely” that Google’s commitment of funds to SpaceX indicates that the web giant is going to be a “major investor” as well as a “real partner.”
If Google is committing money to SpaceX, they are likely to be a major investor and a real partner […] Google brings the applications for the satellites to the table, and SpaceX has the technical know-how and the launch capacity.
Musk, a PayPal co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., intends on advancing rocket and spacecraft technology to the point which would allow for the establishment of a city on Mars.
What do you think of Elon Musk’s plans to build a city on Mars?
[Image via Wikipedia]
