International Space Station, March 2009. Backlit view of the ISS with solar array. Artist. (Photo by Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
Heritage Images via Getty Images
Vast, a startup trying to build the world’s first commercial space station, is in talks to raise a $300 million funding round that values the company at $2 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Forbes. Balerion Space Ventures will lead the round, the person said, noting that talks are ongoing and the numbers could change.
So far, the Long Beach-based company with about 1,000 employees has been mostly self-funded by Jed McCaleb, who made billions as the founder of cryptocurrency companies Ripple and Stellar. He said he is willing to spend up to $1 billion of his own property. In October, Vast he said that In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the Central Intelligence Agency, had invested an undisclosed sum and became a board observer.
Vast declined to comment. Balerion Space Ventures did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Huge plans to launch its first prototype space station, Haven-1in 2026. Vast will begin sending parts of its next station, Haven-2by 2028, designed to replace NASA’s International Space Station. Nasa has said it plans to do so near the ISS in 2031, after which it will rely on contracts with private companies.
McCaleb is one of several billionaire-funded ventures vying for the prized NASA contract. Axiom Space, which is also fighting to build a commercial space station, was founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian. Forbes reported last year that the company was struggling to market its product. And Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin, which is competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to return astronauts to the Moon, is also working on a commercial space station.
