Musk's Boring Company reaches $5.7bn valuation with latest $675mn funding
What's the story
Elon Musk's underground tunneling project, The Boring Company, has raised $675 million in Series C funding round. This takes the valuation of the enterprise to $5.7 billion. The Austin-based company said that the funds will be used to increase its hiring in order to build and scale loop projects. The round was spearheaded by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Boring Company is one of the most interesting names in billionaire Elon Musk's portfolio. Unlike the name, the enterprise is far from boring as it prepares for next-generation transportation. The latest funding is a testament to the investor's belief in what the company does. It will also shut down murmurs of things taking a backseat due to Musk's interest in Twitter.
Fund utilization
The funding will be used to ramp up hiring
In the Series C round, The Boring Company raised capital from not only Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital but also investors such as Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, 8VC, Craft Ventures, and DFJ Growth The funds will be used to ramp up the company's hiring across all sectors and for the acceleration of research and development of Prufrock, its next-generation tunneling equipment.
Current projects
Company is in the works of building a 29-mile loop
The Boring Company is presently working on a transportation system in Las Vegas that dwarfs its current footprint in the city which stands at 1.7 miles. In October last year, it received the initial approval to build a 29-mile network of tunnels wherein passengers will be shuttled via Tesla vehicles. The proposed loop will touch upon every major destination in the sin city.
Future steps
Development of Prufrock is the key to a Hyperloop
The Boring Company is yet to state whether it is working on other projects or not. However, time and again, the company stated that intercity transportation or a Hyperloop will be possible with increasing tunneling speed. This is where Prufrock comes in. The next-generation Prufrock-3 will be able to mine at 7 miles/day, while the current version is only capable of 1 mile/week.