This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Elon Musk's The Boring Company, the private infrastructure startup building underground transportation networks, just landed one of its biggest votes of confidence yet.
The company raised $3 billion in a Series D funding round led by the United Arab Emirates and affiliated investment entities, lifting its valuation to $23 billion. The money is tied to something much bigger than another tunnel in Las Vegas.
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The Boring Company plans to expand its partnership with the UAE and deploy more than 150 kilometers of underground infrastructure across the country, in addition to its Dubai Loop project.
The deal also matters to investors following Musk's broader business empire, including Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financials), the electric-vehicle maker, and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX, Financials), the rocket and satellite company behind SpaceX.
Other investors in the new round include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Temasek, Baron Capital, Vy Capital and Valor Equity Partners.
The Boring Company was valued at $5.675 billion after a $675 million funding round in 2022, making the latest valuation a significant step up.
For investors, the next test is whether the UAE expansion proves Musk's tunneling model can scale beyond showcase projects and become a repeatable infrastructure business.