Jeff Bezos Says Blue Origin IPO Likely in Coming Years After Space Company Raises $10 Billion From Investors

NEW YORK — Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that his space company Blue Origin is likely to go public in the coming years, a potential new opportunity for investors to bet on the fast-growing commercial space industry.

The comments came after Blue Origin raised $10 billion from outside investors for the first time, ending more than two decades in which the company relied almost entirely on Bezos' personal fortune.

"I think, someday, Blue Origin will have an IPO... It would be several years from now. But it probably makes sense for Blue Origin to be a public company at some point," Bezos said in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Bezos did not give a specific timeline or say where the company might list its shares.

$28 billion personal investment

Bezos, who also founded Amazon, said he has personally invested $28 billion in Blue Origin since founding the company in 2000.

For most of its history, Blue Origin operated as a privately funded venture, with Bezos famously selling about $1 billion of Amazon stock a year to bankroll its rocket programs.

The recent funding round marked the first time the company raised significant money from outside investors. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that the round valued Blue Origin at about $140 billion.

That would make it one of the most valuable privately held companies in the United States, though still far smaller than rival SpaceX.

Racing SpaceX

Blue Origin was founded about 18 months before Elon Musk's SpaceX, but has long trailed its rival in launches, revenue and market share.

SpaceX dominates the global launch market with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket and operates Starlink, the world's largest satellite internet network, which generates billions of dollars in annual revenue. Musk's company has become the backbone of NASA's crew and cargo missions.

Blue Origin, meanwhile, has spent years developing New Glenn, a heavy-lift reusable rocket more than twice as powerful as Falcon 9. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight in January 2025, after years of delays, though its booster failed to land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean on that attempt.

Speaking on Fox News, Bezos said the company plans another flight before the end of the year.

"December of this year, we're going to fly that vehicle again," Bezos said.

Major government contracts

Despite its slower start, Blue Origin has secured multibillion-dollar contracts from NASA and the U.S. Space Force.

The company is developing the Blue Moon lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon. NASA selected Blue Origin in 2023 to build a lander for a later Artemis mission, giving the agency a second option alongside SpaceX's Starship.

Blue Origin has also been approved to compete for national security launches for the Space Force and has a backlog of commercial launch contracts, including deals to launch satellites for Amazon's Leo internet network, formerly known as Project Kuiper.

The company also operates New Shepard, a smaller suborbital rocket that carries paying tourists on short trips to the edge of space. Bezos himself flew on the first crewed New Shepard flight in July 2021.

Why go public

Going public would give Blue Origin access to far larger pools of capital to fund its costly ambitions, which include reusable rockets, lunar landers, space stations and in-space infrastructure.

Building and launching rockets requires enormous upfront spending, and space companies often take years to turn a profit. An initial public offering could also give early investors and employees a way to cash out their shares.

But a listing would also bring new scrutiny. Public companies must disclose detailed financial results, and Blue Origin's finances have long been closely guarded. The company is not believed to be profitable.

Space stocks in the spotlight

Bezos' comments come amid renewed investor interest in the space sector.

Public space companies such as Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and Intuitive Machines have seen their shares surge in recent years as investors bet on growing demand for satellite launches, space-based internet and lunar missions.

SpaceX's own move toward public markets has drawn intense attention. GuruFocus reported that Musk's company recently completed a record IPO valuing it at about $1.77 trillion, a milestone that has reshaped expectations for how investors value space businesses.

A Blue Origin listing would likely be among the most closely watched offerings in the sector, given Bezos' profile and the company's ambitions.

Leadership changes

Bezos has taken a more hands-on role at Blue Origin in recent years. In late 2023, he moved to speed up development by installing Dave Limp, a longtime Amazon executive, as chief executive. Employees have said Limp brought a greater sense of urgency to the company's efforts to compete with SpaceX.

Bezos has said in past interviews that Blue Origin has become his full-time focus, even as he remains executive chairman of Amazon.

He has also argued that the space industry has room for multiple successful companies, with growing demand for launches expected to come from new uses of space.

Blue Origin has not filed any paperwork with securities regulators for a public listing, and Bezos' remarks suggest any IPO remains years away.

In the near term, the company's priorities include increasing the launch rate of New Glenn, landing and reusing its booster, and advancing its lunar lander work for NASA.

Blue Origin did not immediately respond to requests for further comment on Bezos' remarks.