Eric Schmidt’s Next Big Move: From Google to Rockets

If you told me last month that Eric Schmidt, the guy that drove Google’s growth as its CEO for a decade and its executive chair for nearly that long after that, was going to go all in on a reusable rocket company, I would have looked at you funny. But as of this week, Schmidt is now CEO of Relativity Space, along with what the New York Times and other reports describe as a “controlling stake” in the company. 

One could argue this is either a radical turn or a logical progression for Schmidt, who is approaching 70 years of age and was worth around $39 billion at the end of 2024. Most of his post-Google work has been involvement in national science policy and AI, including advisory stints under the Obama and Biden Administration and the formation of the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) national security AI think tank.  

Similarly, most of the investments conducted through Innovation Endeavors, the early-stage venture capital fund he co-founded in 2010, have been to a mixture of application, AI, and biotech firms, with a few space outliers that include Astra, Planet, and Skylo Technologies. One could further argue that Planet and Skylo are less “space” and more application/data plays, leaving Astra as the lone rocket company he had exposure to.  

Relativity Space started off with the ambitious dream of being able to fully 3-D print a rocket, from engines to all major structures. It conducted a single launch of the Terran 1 rocket in 2023. The launch was unable to put a payload into orbit due to a second stage failure, but still, the first stage with its nine 3-D printed engines burning liquid methane performed successfully.  

But its dream of fully 3-D printing everything has been compromised in the need to manage costs and expediency to build and fly the fully-reusable Terran-R in 2026. Large scale 3-D printers are expensive to build and operate, leading the company to outsource construction of various structures. 

Relativity needed more funding to keep going, and certainly Schmidt could provide it, either from his own pocket or – as most venture firms and rich folk do – as a part of a larger group. But this doesn’t explain why Schmidt decided to come off the bench and (presumably) engage full-time as Relativity’s CEO. Former New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick came out of retirement to assume the head coaching job at University of North Carolina, but there are significant differences between the NFL and college football.  

Schmidt will have fewer challenges in running Relativity than Belichick faces in his current position, since he’s seen and forgotten more about building and growing companies than most mortals in the venture world will ever experience.  

But still, why? Is it a competitive drive to match and beat Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk? I doubt it. (PS - Someone find out if Zuck is planning to invest in a rocket.) Has Schmidt seen the seeds of something wonderful at Relativity that he believes he can grow into the next Google? Fulfillment of a childhood dream? I don’t have any answers but I’m sure we’ll see some of them next year as Relativity works to put the first Terran-R on the launch pad next year.  

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