Saudi fund weighs SpaceX launch stake

SpaceX has held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund over a possible anchor investment of about $5 billion in the rocket and satellite company’s planned initial public offering, a move that would place one of the Gulf’s most influential sovereign investors at the centre of what could become the largest stock market debut on record. The talks, described by Reuters as confidential and still subject to change, underline both the scale of investor appetite for Musk-led businesses and the growing role of Gulf capital in global technology and infrastructure finance.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters that the proposed investment would also help protect PIF’s existing holding of just under 1 per cent in SpaceX from dilution. SpaceX has been sounding out anchor investors well ahead of its market debut as it tests demand for an offering expected to raise as much as $75 billion. That figure would eclipse the $29.4 billion raised by Saudi Aramco in 2019 and the $25 billion Alibaba float in 2014, putting SpaceX in a category of its own in modern equity markets. Reuters also reported that no final decision has been taken and that both the company and the fund declined public comment.

The possible deal comes as SpaceX pushes towards a public listing after confidentially submitting IPO paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Reuters and Bloomberg have both reported that the filing points to a market launch later this year, with Bloomberg saying the timetable could put the company on track for a June listing if regulatory and market conditions align. Estimates of valuation vary, reflecting the unusual size and complexity of the business, but Reuters cited Bloomberg as saying SpaceX is targeting a valuation of more than $2 trillion, while AP, citing PitchBook research, pointed to a possible valuation of about $1.5 trillion. Even the lower of those figures would rank among the most ambitious valuations ever sought in an IPO.

That range also highlights the central question for investors: how to price a company that combines a dominant commercial launch operation, the world’s largest satellite internet network and highly speculative long-term projects. SpaceX’s Starlink unit has become a critical driver of the company’s cash flow and global relevance, offering broadband services across multiple regions and strengthening the investment case beyond rocket launches alone. AP noted that SpaceX has also become the leading commercial launch company in its field, while continuing to win substantial public-sector work from NASA, the Pentagon and other US agencies. Those factors have helped transform it from a venture-style aerospace bet into a company with infrastructure characteristics, recurring revenues and geopolitical significance.

For Saudi Arabia, a larger stake in SpaceX would fit a broader pattern. PIF, whose assets were reported by Reuters at about $925 billion, has been recalibrating its strategy while remaining active in large-scale international investments. The fund has also deepened its links with Musk’s wider business orbit. Reuters reported that PIF’s AI vehicle, HUMAIN, struck a collaboration with xAI in late 2025 to deploy 500 megawatts of data-centre capacity in Saudi Arabia, and later invested $3 billion through HUMAIN ahead of xAI’s merger with X. Those ties suggest the relationship now extends beyond passive financial exposure and into sectors Riyadh sees as central to its diversification drive, particularly artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and frontier technology.

Yet the talks also bring political and governance questions back into view. Musk’s businesses are closely tied to US government contracting, strategic communications networks and national security considerations. AP reported that SpaceX has won about $6 billion in contracts from US government agencies over the past five years, underscoring how closely its fortunes are linked to Washington as well as Wall Street. A deeper role for a foreign sovereign investor in such a company would not be unprecedented, but it would add scrutiny at a time when geopolitics, technology policy and capital markets are increasingly intertwined.

Market conditions could prove just as important as geopolitics. A flotation on this scale would require deep institutional support, stable risk appetite and careful allocation between sovereign funds, long-only asset managers and wealthy clients of underwriting banks. Reuters reported that SpaceX expects a meaningful share sale to affluent investors through those banks, while anchor orders are intended to signal confidence before the roadshow begins. If PIF were to commit, it would do more than add capital: it would help validate the deal for other global investors assessing whether the company’s valuation can be justified by Starlink earnings, launch dominance and the promise of future businesses still some distance from maturity.