Several sources reported that Google is funneling massive amounts of cash to back up private spaceflight company SpaceX. SpaceX is company which focuses on putting satellites on space to help the global internet infrastructure.
According to latest reports, SpaceX received a hefty sum of $1 billion from Google and Fidelity and now puts the total company value at around $10 billion. Many reports pointed out that the negotiations have been going on for quite some time and SpaceX confirmed these speculations in an official statement saying, "Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has raised a billion dollars in a financing round with two new investors, Google and Fidelity. They join existing investors Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Valor Equity Partners and Capricorn, Google and Fidelity will collectively own just under 10 percent of the company."
Additional reports confirmed that the funding will be used in order to continue the company's research and development in terms of space transport and different innovations in satellite manufacturing.
It is clear that the future of internet lays on space a satellite which is why Google and even Facebook are continuing their efforts to bring high-speed internet access all over the globe, especially in those hard to reach areas where physical internet infrastructures cannot be built.
A press release from SpaceX revealed that they plan to send hundreds of satellites to orbit the Earth and place them at about 750 miles. According to their theory, at this position the satellite will be able to deliver internet speeds comparable to that of fiber-optics connections.
In case the SpaceX theory would prove to be successful, Google's investment will definitely yield a good payoff and would increase the company's dominance in the internet market.
A statement from Google said that its Vice President for corporate development Don Harrison will be joining SpaceX's board of directors.
