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Some space startups threatened by Silicon Valley Bank failure

Link here. The companies mentioned in the article are Astra, BlackSky, Planet, Redwire, Rocket Lab, and Space Perspective.

Rocket Lab has about 8% of its cash assets now trapped by the closure. All the companies had loans from Silicon Valley Bank, some of which were paid off prior to the crash. This quote suggests the situation is critical for some space startups:

“It’s a very serious situation,” said a space sector entrepreneur who asked not to be identified. “Our balance is suddenly only $450. There has been no communication from SVB even after the event became known. Our primary SVB liaison, who has been very attentive in the past, is unreachable by any means. It’s appalling.”

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

20 comments

  • Blackwing1

    Just look who SVB had in charge of Risk Assessment:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11848705/Woke-head-risk-assessment-Silicon-Valley-Bank-accused-prioritizing-diversity-issues.html

    From the article:
    “Last year professional network Outstanding listed Ersapah as a top 100 LGTBQ Future Leader.
    ‘Jay is a leading figure for the bank’s awareness activities including being a panelist at the SVB’s Global Pride townhall to share her experiences as a lesbian of color, moderating SVB’s EMEA Pride townhall and was instrumental in initiating the organization’s first ever global “safe space catch-up”, supporting employees in sharing their experiences of coming out,’ her bio on the Outstanding website states.”

    Lots of things like “Lesbian Visibility” but not a whole lot about experience with risk assessment.

    Yup, their funding of start-ups and whiz-kids may have been insanely risky, but their PRONOUNS were all in order.

    “Get woke, go broke.”

  • Jeff Wright

    Silicon Valley put a lot of people out of work.
    This is divine punishment for doing so.

    Speaking of woke:
    https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=51755

    Ugh…

  • wayne

    It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
    “I’ve Never Really Seen One, but Thats Got All the Earmarks of Being a Run…”
    https://youtu.be/F8DbswBIl9k?t=57
    7:40

  • wayne

    Tucker (3-10-23)
    “SVB”
    https://youtu.be/cl-ZawiAghE?t=259

    “Few things are more empowering to oppressed female bankers, than skiing in Tahoe…”

  • georgec

    I talked to an investor in Boston who said that venture backed companies he was close to had been tipped off and wired out their money. You wonder what kind of rumor mill it takes to create a run on a bank with such a small number of depositors. News media still hasn’t revealed a credible loss profile.

  • sippin_bourbon

    RKLB was quick to announce how much they have (or had) in SVB, at $38M. But overall they had (as of DEC 2022) $242M+ in cash. So assuming they get only a percentage of that $38M back, it hurts, but the impact should be absorbable.

    Astra has not announced if they had cash in the bank, which means they got hurt bad, or not at all. The only thing I have heard is that they paid off a loan there last year. If they had nothing there, they dodged a bullet. They had $141M+ in cash, but their income was much lower. Their last financial statement (SEPT 2022) stated concerns about the next year. Their next quarterly release is March 30.

    The only announcement Astra they made was that they contracted to investigate investors of their stock. I am not enough of a finance person to understand what that part means, and would love to hear from someone with more familiarity with this stuff.

  • sippin_bourbon

    Good thread covering todays evolution of the crisis.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/svb-latest-developments-live-blog-fdic-auction-failed-svb-assets-underway

    If you are not tracking, Feds shuttered a second bank, one that backs a lot of cryptos.

  • Jeff Wright

    Georgec

    One year as a caddie teaches more about business than a Harvard MBA.

    That and listening to a Motorola on the shop floor as security.

  • James Street

    Taxpayers are bailing out the crooks. Again. Making FDIC insurance limitless. Stocks, bonds and crypto futures are skyrocketing. They love having taxpayers fund their corruption. I should say our great and great great grand children.

    “The Federal Reserve Just Made An Emergency Decision Which Will Fundamentally Change Banking In America Forever
    Did you think that the Federal Reserve was just going to stand by and watch the U.S. banking system completely collapse? In response to the stunning failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the Federal Reserve announced a rescue plan on Sunday evening that is going to radically change banking in America forever. All deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will be fully guaranteed and will be available on Monday. Of course the Federal Reserve can’t just make an exception for these two banks. If they are going to do this for them, that means that they are going to have to do it for everyone else too. So what this means is that from this point forward the Federal Reserve is essentially promising to guarantee every bank account in America. Considering the fact that more than 19 trillion dollars is deposited with U.S. banks, that is quite a promise to make.”
    http://endoftheamericandream.com/the-federal-reserve-just-made-an-emergency-decision-which-will-fundamentally-change-banking-in-america-forever/

  • Jeff Wright

    So our money is now Oprah’s?
    https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=51766

    Come the opening bell…all I expect to hear is “bring out your dead.”

  • wayne

    sippin_bourbon-
    thanks for that zero-hedge link.

    If we hear the phrase “actively injecting liquidity into the system…” this morning, then we know everyone is {expletive]!
    This sounds (ungodly) expensive– and the Republicans will go along with ANY thing that is proposed.
    -In the good-old-days before FDR, Officers & Board members of banks, were held personally (and criminally) liable for all losses.

    Margin Call (2011)
    “Senior Partners Emergency Meeting”
    https://youtu.be/Hhy7JUinlu0?t=59

  • James Street

    SVB was big with tech startups, many of them Chinese tech startups. As Robert points out there are no Chinese companies, it’s all the Chinese Communist Party. So SVB is another American taxpayer slush fund for the godless Chicom commies (with 10% for the Big Guy).

    My personal strategy is to not be the one without a chair when the music stops playing.

    Speaking of I just came across this article on another one of the endless ways the American taxpayer is getting soaked:

    “Red Cross Produces Maps on How to Enter US Illegally Without Getting Caught

    The Daily Caller News Foundation has obtained maps and other information guides produced by the American Red Cross. They direct illegal immigrants on how to escape detection, survive the desert, obtain contraceptives, and even jump on trains safely.

    US taxpayers directly fund the Red Cross for millions of dollars. We are funding our own demise.

    While all this is going on, our enemies are forming alliances to depose us or worse.”
    https://www.independentsentinel.com/red-cross-produces-maps-on-how-to-enter-us-illegally-without-getting-caught/

  • James Street

    Wayne, “Margin Call” about the 2008 housing crash is an amazing movie, one of my favorites. Another brilliant movie on the 2008 housing crash is “The Big Short”. And this full 22 minute 2009 episode from South Park that is a parody of the housing crash (warning for language):
    SOUTH PARK
    Margaritaville
    03/26/2009
    22 minutes
    https://southpark.cc.com/episodes/9do3gw/south-park-margaritaville-season-13-ep-3

  • Col Beausabre

    James Street – I have an MBA wirh a concentration in Finance and Accounting and worked in Corporate Treasury (The corporate department that works with Wall Street) for one of the largest firms in the world, a household name, after I retired from the Army. I TOTALLY agree with you. This drives a stake through the concept or moral hazard. It’s party time! Throw cash at anything! There’s no downside risk! The US taxpayer will make us whole! And in a classic “Heads I win, Tails you lose” deal – if I make huge profits, they are mine. If they are huge losses, they are yours. SUCKER

  • Stephen Richter

    Are banks allowed to restrict how quickly their large depositors can withdraw the funds? It served no ones interest for the SVB to have to close because multi million $ depositors could not close their accounts immediately. An institution with $50 million on deposit in a bank has professional staff who make sure the bank is sound. Why are the Feds involved at this point? Banks and large depositors simply have to work out agreements that cover how quickly funds can be withdrawn and how to unwind various bank insolvency scenarios.

  • wayne

    Col Beausabre–
    correct me if I’m mistaken–> SVB was a commercial bank and none of us here have enough money to open any type of account. (They don’t give away toasters.)
    –Do you have any good Bank Jokes?

    Stephen–
    depends which type of account you have, “demand deposit accounts” have no restrictions. Think your checking account.

    James–
    Both good movies!

    Rick Santelli (2009)
    https://youtu.be/zp-Jw-5Kx8k
    4:36

  • sippin_bourbon

    “Do you have any good Bank Jokes?”

    Where do polar bears keep their money?

    In a snowbank.

  • sippin_bourbon

    wayne

    I watched Rick Sanetelli live that day.

    I am not a financial guru, but was mildly interested in the markets as I had both recently returned from an all expense paid, extended overseas vacation in the Sun and Sand (but no water) courtesy of Uncle Sam, and had become a new homeowner, while all heck was busting loose.

    I remember cheering at the TV because I had never heard anyone brave enough to say that on a major network.

    To this day, I have wanted to know what back channel communications from the White House to the CNBC directors took place immediately after. We already knew that Obama had extensive ties to major media personalities, and want to know how many staffers spat out their coffee at this.

  • wayne

    sippin_bourbon-
    great back-story!

    Murray Rothbard on Fractional Reserve Banking, Bank Runs, and the FDIC
    (Michigan Libertarian Party Convention, May 1989)
    https://youtu.be/0m5cjhwh1vA
    2:34

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