The SpaceX Mafia is hereNEWS | 10 January 2026lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.
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Elon Musk was part of the original PayPal Mafia, a club whose members became tech world titans. Now he's building a new legacy: Meet the SpaceX Mafia.
A growing group of former SpaceX employees have founded venture-backed startups of their own. Members of the SpaceX Mafia have raised funding from top venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Founders Fund. A handful also passed through Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's famed funding and mentorship program for nascent startups.
SpaceX in December began an insider sale that reportedly values the company at $800 billion, making it the most valuable private company. Its planned IPO is one of the most anticipated public offerings for 2026.
Collectively, SpaceX Mafia companies have raised more than $3 billion in venture capital funding, according to data from analytics firm PitchBook and the founders.
Here's Business Insider's list of 18 startups helmed by SpaceX-employees-turned-founders, in alphabetical order by company name.Author: Julia Hornstein. Geoff Weiss. Source
