Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is the new CEO of aerospace startup Relativity Space. He replaces the startup's co-founder Tim Ellis.
- Ellis himself noted in his post on X that he would continue to support Relativity Space as a co-founder and board member.
- According to the New York Times, Schmidt told Relativity Space employees the day before that he had made a significant investment and taken a controlling stake in the company.
- This is Schmidt's first executive position since leaving Google nearly 15 years ago. He served as the company's CEO for 10 years, from 2001 to 2011.
- He was invited to run the company to help founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page scale the business. He will now lead Relativity Space at a crucial time in its development, providing both financial support and management expertise. In addition, his connections in Washington, D.C., could help the company work with the US government on future launches.
About Relativity Space
Relativity Space, founded about a decade ago, is preparing to launch the Terran R rocket in 2026. This will be the startup's largest rocket to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Even before the first launch, Relativity Space had signed contracts worth nearly $3 billion.
Relativity Space is known for launching the "world's first 3D-printed rocket," called Terran 1, in 2023, but it malfunctioned shortly after launch. A month later, the startup announced that it would cease production of the Terran 1 to focus entirely on the development of the Terran R. It should be noted that some of the startup's future plans are similar to the ambitious projects of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
In 2024, the startup faced financial difficulties, Bloomberg reported. Its previous investors include billionaire Mark Cuban, BlackRock, and Fidelity. The company was valued at more than $4 billion in 2021.
