ARK Chief Futurist Claims SpaceX IPO Could Be the Most Important Offering in History, Starlink Valued at Nearly $2 Trillion Separately
Brett Winton, Chief Futurist at ARK Invest, stated that SpaceX's upcoming IPO could become one of the most significant stock offerings in history, with its satellite internet business Starlink alone justifying a valuation close to $2 trillion.
SpaceX has set the IPO price at $135 per share and plans to list on NASDAQ on June 12, with a pre-IPO valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion. The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, raising about $75 billion, with underwriters having the option to purchase an additional 83.33 million shares for $11.2 billion. After the IPO, Musk will retain over 82% voting control.
Winton noted that SpaceX's growth prospects are closely tied to the rapid expansion of AI, estimating that by 2030, the combined enterprise value of companies developing and operating foundational AI models could reach $15 trillion to $20 trillion. While investors focus on reusable rockets, Starlink is the primary driver of ARK's valuation logic.
The current Starlink satellite constellation can provide approximately 500 Tbps of bandwidth, generating annual revenue of about $13 billion. With the deployment of Starship, SpaceX will significantly reduce launch costs and accelerate satellite deployment.
Source: Public Information
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Brett Winton, as Chief Futurist at ARK Invest, has long been optimistic about the synergy between SpaceX and Tesla, emphasizing Starlink's strategic value as global broadband infrastructure in several ARK research reports, and has repeatedly predicted its potential to surpass traditional telecom giants.
On the capital front, SpaceX is achieving partial liquidity through the IPO while retaining Musk's over 82% voting power to maintain long-term strategic control. The funds will primarily be used for Starship mass production and the deployment of the next generation of Starlink satellites, aiming to transform aerospace manufacturing capabilities into a low-cost advantage for AI data infrastructure.
This valuation logic is similar to the early independent valuation of Amazon's AWS business, which far exceeded its e-commerce retail, and parallels the capital enthusiasm for Starlink during its high growth period in 2021-2022. SpaceX is currently transitioning from a rocket launch company to a composite infrastructure platform of satellites and AI.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industrial chain: Starlink's low-cost global bandwidth is combining with xAI computational power demands, reshaping the geographical distribution constraints of AI training and inference, as satellite networks reduce the dependency on data center locations, shifting capital from traditional cloud giants to a vertically integrated aerospace-AI closed loop.
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