KENT, Washington: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is seeking outside investors for the first time, aiming to raise US$10 billion in a funding round that would value the space company at $130 billion before the investment, according to a New York Times DealBook report.

The report said Coatue Management is expected to lead the funding round with a $4 billion investment, while Bezos is expected to contribute an additional $2 billion.

The fundraising effort comes as investor interest in space companies has accelerated following SpaceX's initial public offering last month, which boosted expectations for valuations across the private aerospace sector.

Blue Origin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX, whose businesses span rockets, satellites and artificial intelligence, achieved a valuation of about $1.75 trillion after raising approximately $86 billion in what became the world's largest initial public offering.

Founded by Bezos in September 2000, about 18 months before Elon Musk established SpaceX, Blue Origin has largely relied on funding from the Amazon founder. The company has secured multibillion-dollar contracts from NASA and the U.S. Space Force, including work on the Artemis lunar program and national security launches, but it continues to trail SpaceX significantly in launch frequency and revenue.

Unlike SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite internet network has become a major source of revenue, Blue Origin remains focused on launch services, rocket engines and government space programs.

The company suffered a setback in May when its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket exploded during a static fire test on its launch pad, complicating efforts to compete more aggressively in the commercial launch market. Blue Origin has said it expects to resume launches later this year.

The company has also entered the race to develop space-based artificial intelligence infrastructure through Project Sunrise, a proposed network of up to 51,600 satellites designed to host orbital data centers, placing it in direct competition with similar ambitions at SpaceX.

Analysts have cautioned, however, that major technical challenges remain before AI computing in orbit can be deployed at scale. They said the technology is unlikely to become commercially viable until the next decade.