Skip to main content

Max Q: Only a matter of time

Hello and welcome back to Max Q!

In this issue:

  • Intuitive Machines enters the public market
  • Silicon Valley goes to war
  • News from Transcelestial, Umbra and more

Intuitive Machines’ public market debut marked by large shareholder redemptions but sharp stock highs

Lunar technology company Intuitive Machines received far less cash from its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) than it forecasted, but despite this rocky start the stock price saw major highs last week.

Although Intuitive Machines said the SPAC trust could furnish the company with as much as $301 million in dry powder, shareholders opted to redeem a staggering $279.8 million prior to the transaction closing. The redemptions could reflect a relative weariness amongst investors of SPACs, which saw a huge upswing in popularity in the past few years but have more recently fallen out of favor as post-SPAC companies struggle to stay afloat in the public market.

But perhaps those shareholders are regretting getting their money back. The company’s stock closed at $10.03 on its first day of trading Tuesday, and surged to $39.73, up 211%, on Thursday.

Intuitive Machines' rendering of lunar lander

Intuitive Machines rendering lunar lander. Image Credits: Intuitive Machines

Silicon Valley goes to war

For TC+, I wrote about the uptick in defense tech investments over the past few years.

Just a few years ago, many investors thought that cutting a check for a defense-first startup was a proposition that simply didn’t make sense. The tides have clearly shifted, and PitchBook data supports this warming to defense tech. From January to October last year, VC-backed firms injected $7 billion into aerospace and defense companies, a massive growth that stands in sharp contrast to the relative sluggishness in other sectors.

There are many reasons for this uptick in interest in defense tech, but driving all of them is a new, realist vision that’s spread among some technologists and venture capitalists. It sees global antagonisms threatening the stability of Pax Americana; it sees the United States rotting from the inside out due to bloat and lethargy. As a result, the Silicon Valley mentality has returned to its defense roots, embracing the role that venture-funded startups can play in maintaining America’s military dominance and technological supremacy around the world.

“If you believe in democracy, democracy demands a sword,” a16z general partner David Ulevitch said in a recent interview with TechCrunch. And Silicon Valley will be where it is forged.

Image Credits: Kiyoshi Tanno / Getty Images

More news from TC…

  • Near Space Labs CEO Rema Matevosyan sat down with TechCrunch to explain what, exactly, was up with that alleged Chinese spy balloon. (TC)
  • SpaceX faces a $175,000 fine to the Federal Aviation Administration for not reporting certain data to the agency prior to a Starlink launch last August. (TC)
  • Transcelestial, a startup based in Singapore, scored $10 million to expand its wireless laser communications system across parts of Southeast Asia. (TC)
  • Virgin Orbit’s Start Me Up mission was bungled by a faulty fuel filter and fuel pump in the second stage’s engines. (TC)

…and beyond

  • Astranis was awarded a $4.5 million Phase III SBIR contract with the U.S. Space Force to integrate tactical waveform technology into its spacecraft, with a $6 million option for an orbital demonstration using a future Astranis satellite. (Astranis)
  • Blue Origin quietly announced a program, Blue Alchemist, that’s been at work for at least two years developing tech to turn lunar regolith into solar cells and electricity transmission wires. (Blue Origin)
  • India successfully launched the new SSLV rocket, six months after the first launch attempt ended in failure. (NASA Spaceflight)
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency scrubbed a launch of its new H3 rocket at T-0. (Reuters)
  • Launcher’s first spacecraft, Orbiter SN-1, stopped operating after the craft was unable to generate power from its solar panels. (Launcher)
  • Maxar and Umbra announced a new partnership this week, which will see Umbra’s synthetic aperture radar data combine with Maxar’s optical imagery in a combined offering for customers. (Maxar)
  • SpaceRyde, a Canadian launch company that was developing a vehicle that used a balloon first stage, has filed for bankruptcy. (Payload)
  • SpaceX has sold the two oil rigs it purchased back in 2020, which were to be converted into offshore launch platforms for Starship. (SpaceNews)

Max Q is brought to you by me, Aria Alamalhodaei. If you enjoy reading Max Q, consider forwarding it to a friend. 

Max Q: Only a matter of time by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch



from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Wtxg1mv
via https://ift.tt/XDxqcgL
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WORKING 2.0 No Recoil File For PUBG | Anti-Ban File

 WORKING 2.0 No Recoil File For PUBG | Anti-Ban File - techy teacher 2.0 No Recoil File For PUBG Howdy Buddies! We are back with new theme on PUBG versatile 2.0. I genuinely want to believe that you all update your PUBG App in light of the fact that on 11 May PUBG new update has been shown up, and pretty much every client update it. As you most likely are aware my site is the best wellspring of hacking and breaking, on my site you get the most recent reports on game hacks with reasonable recordings. Today, I give you the most recent 2.0 No Recoil File For PUBG. This update is truly astounding, PUBG 2.0 report a few new and intriguing elements with regards to this update. PUBG presents new livik map and in this guide we see a great deal of new things. This new guide is entirely unexpected and PUBG add a few games in it. In this guide, you additionally appreciate soccer challenge and gather coins in remuneration to purchase plunder. How about we examine every one of the new elements ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meta Connect 2024: What to expect, including Quest 3S and new AR smart glasses

Meta Connect 2024 is so close, you can almost taste it. Launching during the week of Sept. 23, the social media giant is expected to rollout hardware and software goodies that will intrigue VR gamer enthusiasts, AI aficionados, and smart glasses devotees. But what, specifically, does Meta have up its sleeves? We have a few guesses based on credible reports. What to expect at Meta Connect 2024 Last year, the Meta Quest 3 was announced in early June, but it got its full reveal at Meta Connect 2023. The headset boasted a sleeker, more comfortable design, as well as new AR capabilities, that made it more appealing than its predecessor. Once again, for Meta Connect 2024, the social media giant is expected to drop a new VR headset, but it's not necessarily an upgrade over the Quest 3. Meta Quest 3S Rumor has it that Meta is planning on revealing a cheaper, more budget-friendly version of the Quest 3 called "Quest 3S." Tweet may have been deleted Whether it was intent...
Post a Comment
Read more

When the clocks change for Daylight Saving Time, and why we do it at all

The clocks on our smartphones do something bizarre twice a year: One day in the spring, they jump ahead an hour, and our alarms go off an hour sooner. We wake up bleary-eyed and confused until we remember what just happened. Afterward, "Daylight Saving Time" becomes the norm for about eight months (And yes, it's called "Daylight Saving" not "Daylight Savings." I don't make the rules). Then, in the fall, the opposite happens. Our clocks set themselves back an hour, and we wake up refreshed, if a little uneasy.  Mild chaos ensues at both annual clock changes. What feels like an abrupt and drastic lengthening or shortening of the day causes time itself to seem fictional. Babies and dogs demand that their old sleep and feeding habits remain unchanged. And more consequential effects — for better or worse — may be involved as well (more on which in a minute). Changing our clocks is an all-out attack on our perception of time as an immutable law of ...
Post a Comment
Read more