For 10 years, Eric Schmidt ran Google as the “adult” in the room, coaching young founders of the internet company, Larry Page and Sergei Brin. In 2011, Schmidt returned Google controls to Mr. Page. He hasn't worked as another CEO since then.
But on Monday, Schmidt told employees of Relativity Space, a rocket startup in Long Beach, California, that he would take over as CEO after investing he had invested heavily and took control of the company.
Schmidt, 69, succeeds Timothy Ellis, the current chief and co-founder of Relativity Space. It is unclear how much money Schmidt invested in the startup.
Relativity Space is one of the startups that fish to produce rockets that can carry small payloads of around 2 tons or less. Some of these companies are focusing on building cheaper, reusable rockets and launching regular satellites – usually satellites, in a fraction of the cost of legacy manufacturers using more expensive, disposable rockets.
The goal is to take on SpaceX for the dominant rocket maker Elon Musk. Relativity Space says it has a long-term goal of creating an industrial base on Mars.
Ellis, who once worked at Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' rocket company, founded the relativity space in 2016 with former SpaceX employee Jordan None.
The company has raised nearly $2 billion in estimated valuations from investors such as Coatue, BlackRock, Bond, Fidelity and Mark Cuban, according to data compiled by Pitchbook.
In recent years, the space of relativity has fallen into challenges. I released one small Terran 1 rocket in 2023, and it failed shortly after the lift-off. A month later, Relativity Space announced that it would retire from Terran 1 and focus on Terran R. The TerranR is a large rocket that competes with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Startups have moved away from focusing entirely on 3D printed materials and have begun to incorporate traditionally made parts with the construction of rockets.
At the same time, the relativity space faces tough competition. The company says it plans to launch the Terran R in 2026, but by then it could face many rivals, including Blue Origin's orbital rocket The New Glenn. Vulcan by the United Launch Alliance; neutrons by Rocket Lab; and medium-sized launch vehicles by Firefly Aerospace, a Texas startup that landed its spacecraft last week.
By the end of last year, the relativity space was facing new funding challenges, according to the two who are knowledgeable about the issue.
Schmidt, who holds a pilot license and has personal investments in the aerospace and defense industries, including drone research and AI, became interested in the relativity space in 2024.
This year, he agreed to invest in the company through his family office investment company Hillspire, and people said he continues to support the relativity space on the condition that he takes over his daily business. Bloomberg reported that Schmidt invested in the relative performance space in January.
People said Schmidt will focus on building operations and improving product and manufacturing execution. In a meeting with employees on Monday, they said he expressed his passion for the project.
Despite the struggle, space executives of relativity have shown confidence in the company's progress. The startup is paying attention to milestones from the Terran 1 rocket, which is the first time a 3D printed rocket has reached the Max-Q. This is the point where the vehicle experiences the most intense stress. Terran 1 achieved stage separation when the booster used for lift-off drops from the second stage of the vehicle.
It is unclear how consequential these are, as the company has decided to move away from the 3D printed materials.
After the launch of Terran 1, Relativity Space has reached nearly $3 billion in future launch agreements with customers, said two people familiar with the company.
In 2022, before the Terran 1 failure, Relativity Space announced a bold plan to send its first private space mission to Mars, in collaboration with another startup called Impulse Space.
At the time, Ellis had admitted that the plan was “on the edge of crazy.” He added that the mission to begin with Terran R is ready in two and a half years when Mars and Earth were in good alignment. That window passed in late 2024.
