Stoke Space Is Raising $1 Billion to Fund Flagship Nova Rocket

BLOOMBERG - Stoke Space Technologies Inc. is raising $1 billion to accelerate development and production of a fully reusable rocket to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX, people familiar with the matter said.

The closely held startup is raising money at a valuation of around $9 billion, excluding the new funds, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Stoke aims to close the round this month, the people said.

A representative for Stoke declined to comment.

Founded in 2019 by former engineers from Jeff Bezos-backed rocket maker Blue Origin LLC, Stoke has been working toward getting its Nova rocket ready for its debut launch. As is the case with SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Nova is designed to be reusable. But Stoke is aiming to recover the entire vehicle after each flight, which Falcon isn’t designed to do.

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Note:  Stoke Space is headquartered in Kent.

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