Acceleration of Space Investment and Fundraising

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

This article points out a new trend that could very well be the precursur of even more private investing in new tech space ventures. This is classed as new sat technologies, new LVs, and other space ventures such as new commercial space services.

http://spacenews.com/more-than-2-billion-invested-in-space-companies-since-2012/

The trend conclusions of the article are that the SpaceX and One Web amounts are outliers in the trend such that the trend is that the number of fundraising events and annual fundraising amounts are doubling each year. That is an exponential curve. Ignoring the SpaceX and OneWeb events still shows a phenomenal amount of average fundraising per year occurring in just 2 years of $1.5 billion (estimate based on trend from 2014 data and 2015 partial year data).

There is a possibility that in less than 10 years the private fundraising for new tech space ventures could be greater than NASA's entire budget. The fundraising data for this year and for at least half of 2016 should show the actual trend more clearly to the point where a prediction of totals several years in the future can be made to a couple of digit accuracy. Currently the data has insufficient timeline to even make single digit accuracy predictions.

[nadreck]

Yes, I think the accelerating number of different ventures being funded is more significant than the total $ value.  Though of significance in some of the larger equity deals are names like Fidelity, Coca-cola, etc.  Lots of new money is available for investment, the question is what investments can be taken seriously?  The large numbers of small projects involving innovative applications of micro and cube sat technologies that are happening will undoubtedly provide some wild successes and that will help. For every Apple there were hundreds of lemons (and only a few lemonade stands), but a few more successes going from an innovative space application to a successful business will attract attention.

One other thing that might make a sea change to how investment money flows into space industries, is when moderate sized companies (with market capitilizations in the  $1 to $10B range) get into having their own space assets.