• Private investment in space companies hit $3.9 billion in the third quarter, according to a report this week by New York-based firm Space Capital.
• That propels this year to a new annual record of $10.3 billion, exceeding the record of $9.8 billion set in 2020, the report said.
• Space companies closing SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) mergers and going public made up a significant portion of the capital raised in the third quarter.

Private investment in space companies hit $3.9 billion in the third quarter, propelling this year to a new annual record of $10.3 billion, according to a report this week by New York-based firm Space Capital.

"This quarter sets a new record for yearly infrastructure investment, having surpassed the previous of $9.8B set in 2020," Space Capital managing partner Chad Anderson wrote in the report.

The quarterly Space Capital report divides investment in the industry into three technology categories: infrastructure, distribution and application.

Infrastructure includes what commonly would be considered as space companies, such as firms that build rockets and satellites.

Space companies closing SPAC mergers and going public made up a significant portion of the capital raised in the third quarter – with moves completed by Rocket Lab, Spire Global, BlackSky, Momentus, and Redwire. The two largest deals in the quarter were by ORBCOMM, which was taken private for $1.1 billion, and satellite broadband company OneWeb, which raised $550 million.

With more SPAC deals expected to close in the fourth quarter, Anderson wrote that "the average round size and the number of rounds are also on track to set new records at the end of Q4."

In total, Space Capital tracks 1,654 companies which have raised $231.2 billion in cumulative global equity investment since 2012 across its three space categories.

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