SpaceX is preparing an IPO valued at $1.5 trillion, and expectations are spreading in the market that SpaceX will bring new momentum to a sluggish IPO market, U.S. tech outlet TechCrunch reported on Jan. 30.

SpaceX is pursuing an IPO in the first half and is working with major Wall Street banks. That suggests it could break a multi-year IPO drought and reactivate the public offering market.

Greg Martin, managing director at Rainmaker Securities, said, "Companies like SpaceX are using the pre-IPO secondary market to provide liquidity to investors and employees." He added, "This trend will continue."

The analysis is that with the IPO market depressed since 2021, companies like SpaceX could become a signal flare for a market recovery. SpaceX recently conducted a $800 billion tender offer and is still drawing strong market interest.

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk (일론 머스크), has expanded its business from rocket launches to Starlink and space logistics, building a unique competitive edge. Martin said, "If SpaceX goes public, it will be able to attract a large inflow of capital, but liquidity in the private market will become even more active."

Beyond SpaceX, companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Stripe are also trading actively in the secondary market, and if the IPO market opens, more companies are likely to push ahead with listings.

Separately from SpaceX's IPO, a merger between SpaceX and Tesla is expected to be a complex task.

The two companies have cooperated in the past, including sharing board members and SpaceX launching a Tesla Roadster into space, but there is not much business linkage now. Tesla is shifting into an AI and robotics company and recently converted Model X and S production lines to produce Optimus robots. Tesla and SpaceX are also both pursuing solar power generation of 100 gigawatts in the United States.

Musk has stressed that Tesla needs to build a 'terafab' to produce AI chips, and this could also be linked to SpaceX's solar-powered AI satellites. Ultimately, his goal is to build a Mars colony.

Musk has an ambitious long-term vision to expand AI infrastructure into space. He recently said at the Davos forum, "The lowest cost place for AI training is space," and said SpaceX plans to launch solar-powered AI satellites. He also has a concept to build an AI computing network using Starship rockets and Starlink satellites.

SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned Mars probe before 2030, and there is a strong possibility Tesla's Optimus robots will be included in the mission. Musk has previously viewed a proposal to merge SpaceX, Tesla and the Boring Company positively, and public attention is focused on the possibility that his corporate empire could be integrated into one under the name 'Musknomics'.