Rocket Lab

Long Beach, California, United States Aerospace & Defense Public

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company providing small-satellite launch services, spacecraft, satellite components, and on-orbit services. Founded by Peter Beck in New Zealand in 2006 and now headquartered in Long Beach, California, the company operates the Electron small-lift rocket and is developing the medium-lift reusable Neutron rocket. Its space systems business builds satellite buses (Photon), solar cells, reaction wheels, star trackers, separation systems, flight software, and laser optical communications terminals for commercial, civil, and national-security customers.

Public Company

Rocket Lab is publicly traded

This company is no longer available on our private secondary market. Shares can be traded publicly under its listed ticker.

Overview

Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

Founded

2006

Employees

2,600+

Total Funding

$220.5M

4 rounds

Last Private Valuation

$1.2B

Nov 1, 2018

Funding

Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

Total raised $220.5M across 4 rounds

Last updated 06-25-2026

DateRoundAmount RaisedValuationLead Investors
Nov 2018 Series E $140M $1.2B Future Fund
Mar 21, 2017 Series D Press release $75M $1B Data Collective
Mar 2015 Series B Not disclosed Bessemer Venture Partners

Valuation Trajectory

Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

$1B 2018 Rocket Lab

Entry · Series D

$1B

Mar 2017

Rocket Lab today

$1.2B

Nov 2018 · latest mark

Rocket Lab multiple

1.2x

valuation uplift since first round

Y-axis is logarithmic. Hollow dots = estimated valuations. Does not represent realized investor returns.

Leadership

  • Peter Beck

    Founder, President, CEO & Chair

    LinkedIn
  • Adam Spice

    Chief Financial Officer

  • Frank Klein

    Chief Operations Officer

Competitors

Competitor list is illustrative and may be incomplete, stale, or erroneous.

  • SpaceX

    Dominant launch provider operating reusable Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy and Starship; primary heavy-lift and rideshare competitor.

  • Firefly Aerospace

    Texas-based small/medium launch and lunar lander company; competes with Rocket Lab on small-sat launch and DoD contracts. Public (Nasdaq: FLY).

  • Relativity Space

    3D-printed rocket developer building Terran R, a reusable medium-to-heavy-lift vehicle targeting late-2026 first flight.

  • Blue Origin

    Jeff Bezos-backed space company operating New Shepard suborbital and the New Glenn heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle.

  • Astra Space

    Small-launch competitor that went public in 2021 and was taken private in 2024 after operational setbacks.

Rocket Lab Investment FAQ

Rocket Lab FAQ

Rocket Lab became publicly traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 25, 2021 under the ticker RKLB, following a SPAC merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: VACQ). The combined company received approximately $777M in gross proceeds from the trust account and concurrent PIPE financing, at an implied pro-forma equity value of roughly $4.8B.

Rocket Lab shares can be purchased through any standard brokerage account — including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and online platforms like Robinhood or E*TRADE. Search for the ticker to place an order.

Rocket Lab had a valuation of approximately $1.2B at the time of its public offering. Current market capitalization fluctuates with the share price.

Rocket Lab raised $220.5M across 4 disclosed funding rounds prior to its public listing.

Rocket Lab was founded by Peter Beck in 2006.

Rocket Lab is headquartered in Long Beach, California, United States.

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Data collected with AI, which can make mistakes. Please double-check this information.