Bezos says Blue Origin likely to pursue IPO in coming years

Oct 7 : Blue Origin is likely to pursue an initial public offering in the coming years, billionaire founder Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday, after the space company raised $10 billion from outside investors for the first time in a funding round.

"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 on FOX News Channel's "Special Report with Bret Baier".

The remarks are Bezos' clearest indication yet that Blue Origin could seek a stock market listing. An eventual IPO would offer investors exposure to a major space company amid renewed interest in the sector, though rival SpaceX, which listed in June, remains the dominant player.

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

The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Blue Origin's recent funding round valued it at $140 billion.

Founded about 18 months before Elon Musk's SpaceX, Blue Origin has largely relied on Bezos for funding while securing multibillion-dollar NASA and US Space Force contracts, including for work on the Artemis lunar program.

Blue Origin aims to resume New Glenn launches this year after a launch-pad explosion during a static-fire test in May delayed its efforts to compete with SpaceX in the commercial launch market.

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