Tim Ellis.

Tim Ellis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Relativity Space, the aerospace company pioneering 3D-printed rocket manufacturing.

Ellis founded Relativity in 2015 with Jordan Noone, both former employees at Blue Origin and SpaceX, with the audacious vision of 3D-printing entire rockets to dramatically reduce manufacturing time and complexity. Relativity developed the Stargate metal 3D printers-the largest of their kind in the world-and in 2023 launched Terran 1, the first rocket ever made primarily through 3D printing. The company is now developing Terran R, a larger reusable rocket designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 for medium-lift missions. Relativity has been valued at over $4 billion and has raised more than $1.3 billion from investors including Tiger Global, Fidelity, and BlackRock. Ellis was named to Fortune's 40 Under 40 and has become one of the most prominent young entrepreneurs in the new space economy. His thesis-that 3D printing will fundamentally transform aerospace manufacturing the way it has transformed other industries-represents one of the most ambitious bets in modern American aerospace entrepreneurship.