Sierra Space Raises $1.4 Billion In Series A Funding Round: Who Are The Investors?

Sierra Space, the Louisville, Colorado-based commercial space company subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, has announced it raised $1.4 billion in a Series A round that achieved a $4.5 billion valuation.

What Happened: The fund round was led by General Atlantic, Coatue and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners, AE Industrial Partners and what the company described as “various strategic family offices.”

Sierra Space will use funding in the development of its Dream Chaser Spaceplane, a reusable only orbital spaceplane scheduled to conduct missions to the International Space Station in late 2022.

The funds will also support the development of the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) Habitat, a modular three-story commercial habitation-business-science platform being created in partnership with Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos.

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Why It Matters: The privately-owned Sierra Nevada entered the space industry in 2008 with its acquisitions of MicroSat Systems and SpaceDev, creating a division focused on this sector. In April, it announced the division would be spun off into Sierra Space.

Headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, Sierra Space has a workforce of 1,100 employees.

“We are building the next generation of space transportation systems and in-space infrastructures and destinations that will enable humanity to build and sustain thriving civilizations beyond Earth,” stated Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “Equally as important, Sierra Space is building the next platform for business. Space provides a unique environment that will enable new breakthroughs in critical areas such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, fiber optics and energy that will directly enhance our life on Earth.”

Photo: Dream Chaser Spaceplane, courtesy of Sierra Space.