Elon Musk's SpaceX venture is reportedly looking to raise more than $25 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, a move that could boost the rocket-maker's valuation to over $1 trillion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
The company's move towards a public listing, which could rank among the largest global IPOs, has been largely driven by the rapid expansion of its Starlink satellite internet business, including plans for direct-to-mobile service and progress in its Starship rocket program for moon and Mars missions.
SpaceX has started discussions with banks about launching the offering around June or July, the person said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential information.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Talks over a listing plan are unfolding against the backdrop of a resurgence in the IPO market in 2025 after a three-year dry spell.
Wall Street's top executives expect the momentum to carry into 2026, turbocharged by a pipeline of high-profile companies preparing to test investor demand.
"SpaceX represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the global IPO market and has been on the dream-list of several investors for years," Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket, told Reuters.
"It is a genuine growth industry, with space technology seen as a key frontier in both defense, satellite proliferation and in tech infrastructure in general the growth of orbital data centers."
Several big startups have stayed private for longer and continued to raise capital in private markets, and a listing from a company like SpaceX could prompt more of them to move toward public offerings.
SpaceX ranks as the world's second most valuable private startup after ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, according to data from Crunchbase. OpenAI and rival Anthropic are also reportedly in talks for an IPO next year.
"If all these deals come through, the U.S. IPO market will experience a genuine revival, the green shoots of which have already been seen this year," Kerr said.
The news of the potential IPO comes days after a media report that said SpaceX is kicking off a secondary share sale that would value the rocket-maker at $800 billion.
However, Musk dismissed the report, calling it inaccurate.
Saudi Aramco is the only completed IPO to achieve a more than $1 trillion valuation. The state-owned petroleum and natural gas giant debuted in December 2019 with an estimated market capitalization of $1.7 trillion.
SpaceX expects to use funds from the public listing to develop space-based data centers, including purchasing the chips required to run them, according to Bloomberg News, which was first to report the potential terms of the offering.
Several billionaires and private firms are fueling a new space race in the U.S., pouring money into rockets, satellites and lunar missions, including SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
With NASA relying more on commercial partnerships and defense spending rising, the space industry is becoming a high-stakes arena for technological dominance, national security and economic opportunity.
Still, questions about Musk's ability to run multiple listed companies valued at more than $1 trillion could keep investors cautious, analysts said.
"SpaceX could be one of the most divisive stocks to join the market in years," Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, told Reuters.
"If SpaceX did float, expect growing pressure on Musk to commit to only one of his listed entities – Tesla or SpaceX. It's hard to see how one individual could run two $1 trillion+ companies at the same time."
