Only a year after billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos took their first commercial flights into sub-orbit, investment in space travel companies has slowed over the course of 2022.
In fiscal year 2021, space companies raised almost $47 billion, with about $14.5 billion of that coming in the fourth quarter of the year according to Space Capital. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, these same companies have raised just $7.2 billion.
Axios notes that Branson’s own space travel venture, Virgin Galactic, won’t offer commercial service until 2023 at the earliest, which has caused investors to cool on the company. Another reason for decreased investment are the high costs that space-related startups typically face due to the price of hardware, as well as research and development.
According to Mo Islam at Payload Space, "The companies that can generate real paying customers today are the ones that have the best chance of navigating the fundraising vacuum we're in.
"If you fall into the 2nd or 3rd order business model and you don't have 12-18 months of runway, government contracts to bridge the gap to commercial orders will be critical."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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