Rocket Lab Begins Trading on Nasdaq
Joins Spire as Second PV Portfolio Company to Publicly Trade in Span of a Week.
Hearty congratulations to Pete Beck and the entire Rocket Lab team on their first day of trading as a public company today (NASDAQ: RKLB). We have been fortunate to have two portfolios companies start their public company lives over the last week: Spire (NYSE: SPIR) and now Rocket Lab. The Company will receive approximately $777 million of gross proceeds from the SPAC and PIPE.
We wrote in March about our first investment in Rocket Lab in 2017 and their announced $4.1B merger with special purpose acquisition company Vector Acquisition Corporation. Pete’s early vision on launch has proved itself out, with today more than 100+ (we’ve lost count) launch startups trying to catch up to Rocket Lab today.
Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron has become the second most frequently launched US rocket annually and has delivered 105 satellites to orbit over 20 completed missions. The team is building a new reusable Neutron rocket that sports an eight-ton payload to low earth orbit (and a 1.5-ton payload to Mars/Venus) and is capable of cargo resupply, human spaceflight, and interplanetary missions.
But Rocket Lab is not just a launch company and the team has been busy over the years building its configurable spacecraft group. Numerous companies have inked deals with the team’s Photon platform to supply spacecraft to their missions. Photon has been selected by NASA to support its missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. The Company additionally acquired satellite hardware manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020 to augment its growing components group.
The Rocket Lab team has heard the proverbial “that’s impossible” for more than a decade now and their hard-working DNA has created a muscle memory that continues to push critics aside to accomplish their grand visions. Their success is well earned. For them, the race is far from over, with many missions to conquer ahead.
We’ve been privileged to have a front-row seat to watch this team execute over the years, and are incredibly excited to watch how the next chapter of their extraordinary story unfolds.
In addition to Rocket Lab, Promus Ventures’ other announced space and geospatial investments include Spire (NYSE: SPIR), ICEYE, Mapbox, Aurora Insights, Isotropic Systems, Enview, Ellipsis Drive, and others. Rocket Lab is one of four Promus Ventures portfolio investments located in New Zealand. From our offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Luxembourg, we focus on early-stage deep tech startups solving complex problems to advance everyday lives across the world. Since 2012, Promus Ventures has invested in 90+ portfolio investments across the US, EU, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
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