Space startups raise a record $20.8 billion: infrastructure bets heat up, with primary-market fervor and secondary-market chill coexisting.

According to a report released by global investment firm Seraphim, space startups attracted a record $20.8 billion in financing in the third quarter, with investors pouring funds heavily into launch service providers, manufacturing, and other infrastructure companies. This figure is nearly three times the $7.4 billion invested in the second quarter and more than double the previous peak. Even excluding Blue Origin's $10 billion financing, investment still reached a historic high of $10.8 billion. A record 216 deals were completed in the quarter, up from 140 in the second quarter. The booming primary market financing stands in sharp contrast to the weak performance of publicly listed space companies in the secondary market.