Relativity Space, the Long Beach 3D-printed rocket maker, has unveiled plans to create a fully reusable rocket.
CEO Tim Ellis told CNBC that the move is an "obvious evolution" for the company. The announcement comes on the heels of a hefty $500 million round he closed in November.
"It's the same architecture, the same propellant, the same factory, the same 3D printers, the same avionics and the same team," Ellis told the outlet.
<p>Dubbed Terran R, Relativity's second launch vehicle will carry 20 times the payload as its first model, which is slated to launch for the first time later this year, he said. That inches the company even closer to rivaling SpaceX's partially reusable rocket, Falcon 9. </p><p>The announcement kicks off a series of new initiatives. It's the five-year-old company's first big move since its latest round that bumped its valuation up to $3.2 billion. And Ellis told CNBC that Relativity is "in active dialogue" for a number of contracts for both rocket models.</p><p>Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX was valued at $46 billion in early 2020 after its own massive boost. </p><p>Relativity could not be immediately reached for comment. </p><p>The company boasts the world's largest robotic metal 3D printer that does away with the thousands of parts typically used to build rockets. The rockets require fewer than 1,000 parts and about 95% of each is 3D printed. And they're ready to launch in 60 days, Ellis <a href="https://dot.la/relativity-space-2646249484.html" target="_self">told dot.LA</a> last year. </p><p>Relativity's backers include Tiger Global Management, Playground Global, Y Combinator, Social Capital and Mark Cuban. dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff is also an investor. </p>
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Even a raging pandemic and sagging economy could not slow down startupland, which set new records for deal value, exit value and capital raised.
Investors deployed $156.2 billion into startups, liquidated $290.1 billion of value via exits and closed on $73.6 billion in traditional VC funds, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor released Thursday, which is jointly produced by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Firms are starting this year with $152 billion in dry powder at their disposal.
"The unprecedented macro events of 2020 did not deter the overall VC industry, which reached another banner year across the venture cycle," said Bobby Franklin, president and chief executive of NVCA, in a prepared statement.
At least one out of every 10 venture investment dollars flowed through Los Angeles, which continued to demonstrate its heft as a tech hub, trailing only the Bay Area in total deal value. That was tied with New York, but whereas that city saw a 16.9% decline in deal value, Los Angeles saw a 38.9% increase.
<p>"I don't see any slowing down in the Los Angeles ecosystem," Kelly Perdew, co-founder and managing general partner of Moonshots Capital told dot.LA. "I see it growing and growing."</p><p>L.A. did see 10% fewer deals in 2020, which was emblematic of a national trend of fewer but bigger deals.</p><p>L.A. ended the year on a strong note with $3.2 million worth of deals in the fourth quarter, more than double the same period as 2019 and more than any quarter in 2020 except the third quarter.<br/></p><p>Relativity Space, <a data-linked-post="2645826015" href="https://dot.la/relativity-space-tim-ellis-2645826015.html" target="_blank">which uses 3-D printers to make rockets</a>, led the list. Founded by SpaceX alum Tim Ellis in 2015, the Long Beach company <a data-linked-post="2648971175" href="https://dot.la/relativity-space-soars-reportedly-landing-a-500m-investment-2648971175.html" target="_blank">raised a $500 million Series D round</a> led by hedge fund Tiger Global Management in November that values the company at $1.8 billion. </p><p>Another infusion came from Scopely investors, who poured <a href="https://dot.la/doubling-valuation-scopely-is-now-one-of-the-top-la-tech-startups-2648525465.html" target="_self">$340 million in Series E funding </a>into the video game company in October at a $3.3 billion valuation, nearly doubling the company's $1.7 billion post-money valuation from a $200 million deal in March.</p><p><a href="https://dot.la/top-venture-capital-funds-2649623434.html" target="_self">Los Angeles fundraising was also robust </a>in the fourth quarter, with nearly $2.5 million raised across 18 vehicles, almost tripling the haul raised in the last quarter of 2019. </p><p>Those included <a href="https://dot.la/jordan-fudge-sinai-ventures-2649474421.html" target="_self">Sinai Capital Partners, which announced</a> in November a $600 million second fund, $500 million of which will go towards the tech-focused <a href="https://sinaivc.com/" target="_blank">Sinai Ventures</a>. There was also <a href="https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/netflix-co-founder-to-judge-contest-for-uws-brightest-kids/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Westlake Village BioPartners</a>, the two-year-old firm focusing on life science and therapeutic companies. In December, it announced the raise of two new funds together worth $500 million.</p><p>This year is already off to a promising start with Santa Monica-based March Capital announcing Thursday it has closed its third fund, a $450 million vehicle to continue the firm's focus on enterprise software companies. </p><p>If there was a downside to 2020's venture activity it would be that most capital is going towards bigger firms, harming efforts by women and founders of color to gain a toehold in the industry. Established firms secured nearly 75% of total capital raised in 2020, the highest share since 2012.</p><p>"In times of uncertainty people like to go with a known quantity," Perdew said.</p>
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Makers of rockets and video games — and a now-notorious short-form streaming service that ended in spectacular failure — dominated the list of biggest L.A. venture deals in 2020.
The top ten raises amounted to more than $5.3 billion, according to data from Pitchbook. Of the top ten biggest raises, Elon Musk's SpaceX dominated the list. The rocket maker went back to the venture capital well three times this year, most recently in August when it raised $1.9 billion of Series N venture funding from Capital Partners and Legendary Ventures at $44.10 billion valuation.
<p>
<a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/spacex-worth-almost-100b-after-new-funding-round-report-says" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The company is now reportedly in talks </a>to raise yet another round at an estimated post-money valuation of $92 billion, which would nearly triple its valuation from its January Series L. The company got a boost this month when the Federal Communications Commission awarded it $885.5 million to provide satellite internet service to 642,925 rural homes and businesses over the next decade and more government contracts are likely on the way. Will SpaceX finally go public next year? <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/09/ipos-vs-spacs-what-to-expect-in-2021.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Some analysts think so. </a>
</p><p>
Those looking for a space play at a lower valuation have turned to Relativity Space, which uses 3-D printers to make rockets. Founded by SpaceX alum Tim Ellis out of Y Combinator in 2015, the Long Beach company raised a $500 million Series D round led by hedge fund Tiger Global Management last month that values the company at $1.8 billion.
<a href="https://spacenews.com/relativity-space-raises-500-million/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ellis said it was the largest Series D in Los Angeles history</a> and it was also one of the largest raises of any kind of 2020.
</p><p>
While SpaceX and Relativity Space continue to soar higher, Quibi
<a data-linked-post="2648433519" href="https://dot.la/quibi-2648433519.html" target="_blank">crashed and burned</a> after a disastrous April debut. Despite a costly marketing budget that included a Super Bowl spot and high-profile talent deals, the Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman-led venture was never able to make a mark in the highly competitive streaming wars.
</p><p>
The company closed a $750 million funding round in March but investors Alibaba Group, Hollywood Studios International, Pegasus Tech Ventures and WndrCo will likely see little of that money ever again.
<a href="https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2020/12/02/quibi-shuts-down/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Quibi quietly shut down earlier this month,</a> after Katzenberg said in October that he did not see a successful path forward.
</p><p>
Two beneficiaries of the stay-at-home economy round out the list of the biggest raises in 2020. Zwift, a Long-Beach based online fitness platform
<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zwift-raises-450-million-investment-series-c-round-led-by-kkr-301131915.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">raised nearly half a billion dollars in Series C funding </a>in September. And then there's Scopely, which <a href="https://dot.la/doubling-valuation-scopely-is-now-one-of-the-top-la-tech-startups-2648525465.html" target="_self">raised $340 million in Series E funding in October</a> at a $3.3 billion valuation, which nearly doubled the company's $1.7 billion post-money valuation from a $200 million deal in March.
</p><p>
The latest raise makes Scopely
<a href="https://dot.la/doubling-valuation-scopely-is-now-one-of-the-top-la-tech-startups-2648525465.html" target="_self">one of the most valuable tech companies in Los Angeles, </a>which is a victory – on paper for now – for seed investors Greycroft, The Chernin Group and TenOneTen ventures. They all got in on the ground floor at a $40 million post-money valuation in 2012. Upfront Ventures, BAM Ventures and M13 got in on the 2018 Series C at a $710 post-money valuation.
</p><h2>LA's Top Ten Raises of 2020</h2><iframe class="airtable-embed" frameborder="0" height="533" onmousewheel="" src="https://airtable.com/embed/shr27IbA0kVTwJloR?backgroundColor=blue&viewControls=on" style="background: transparent; border: 1px solid #ccc;" width="100%">
</iframe><p><em>Lead art by Candice Navi</em></p>
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