Atlassian vs SpaceX: Founders, CEOs and History
Atlassian was founded in 2002 by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar and is led by Mike Cannon-Brookes. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk and is led by Elon Musk.
Company facts
Founders
Atlassian
Mike Cannon-Brookes
Atlassian was founded in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. The founding of the company is a notable departure from the traditional Silicon Valley startup narrative.
Scott Farquhar
Scott Farquhar co-founded Atlassian in 2002 and served as co-CEO alongside Mike Cannon-Brookes until he stepped down on August 31, 2024, one of the longest co-CEO partnerships among listed technology companies.
SpaceX
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa, and emigrated to Canada at age 17 before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned dual degrees in economics and physics.
CEOs and their tenures
Atlassian
- Mike Cannon-Brookes2002–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Cannon-Brookes has led Atlassian since founding it in 2002, taking it from a $10,000 startup to $6.57 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue, and has been sole chief executive since Scott Farquhar stepped down on August 31, 2024.
Source - Scott Farquhar2002–2024
Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Farquhar served as co-CEO alongside Cannon-Brookes from 2002 until August 31, 2024, overseeing technical and engineering areas of the company as it grew from the original Jira issue tracker to a cloud platform serving more than 350,000 customers.
Source
SpaceX
- Elon Musk2002–present
Founder, CEO & Chief Engineer
Under Musk, SpaceX became the highest-cadence launch provider and built Starlink into its largest revenue segment. He led the company through its June 12, 2026 IPO, priced at $135 per share and raising $85.7 billion.
Source - Gwynne Shotwell2002–present
President and Chief Operating Officer
As President and COO since 2008, she has managed day-to-day operations and strategic customer relationships, guiding the company to unprecedented launch cadences and billions in recurring Starlink revenues.
Source
Timeline: Atlassian and SpaceX side by side
2002Atlassian
Company founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar in Sydney
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar founded Atlassian with $10,000 in credit card debt while students at the University of New South Wales. They launched Jira, a bug-tracking and project management tool for software developers.
2002SpaceX
SpaceX is founded
Elon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to reduce launch costs and make Mars settlement technically possible.
2004Atlassian
Launch of Confluence team collaboration platform
Atlassian launched Confluence, a team collaboration and documentation platform that complemented Jira and expanded the addressable market beyond software development into general team collaboration and knowledge management.
2005Atlassian
Reaches $1 million in annual revenue with no salespeople
Atlassian reached $1 million in annual revenue entirely through self-service online sales, validating the product-led growth model and demonstrating that enterprise software could be sold without a traditional sales force.
2008SpaceX
Falcon 1 reaches orbit
Falcon 1 became the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit, rescuing SpaceX after three failed attempts.
2010Atlassian
Raises $60 million from Accel Partners
Atlassian raised its first outside investment, $60 million from Accel Partners, after eight years of bootstrapped growth. The money went to product development and international expansion, not to building a sales force.
2012Atlassian
Acquisition of HipChat for real-time messaging
Atlassian acquired HipChat, an enterprise messaging platform, entering the real-time communication market and expanding the product suite beyond project management and documentation.
2012SpaceX
Dragon reaches the ISS
Dragon became the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, proving SpaceX could serve NASA cargo missions.
2015Atlassian
Initial public offering on NASDAQ
Atlassian completed its IPO on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, raising $462 million at a valuation of $4.37 billion. Shares were priced at $21 and rose 32% on the first day to close near $28.
2015SpaceX
Falcon 9 booster landing
SpaceX landed an orbital-class booster, establishing the technical base for reusable launch economics.
2017Atlassian
Acquisition of Trello for $425 million
Atlassian acquired Trello, a visual task management platform built on Kanban boards, for $425 million in cash and stock. The deal extended its reach to non-technical teams and smaller organizations, complementing Jira.
2017SpaceX
Orbital booster reflight
SpaceX reflown an orbital-class booster, pushing reuse from demonstration into operating model.
2018Atlassian
Launch of Jira Service Management
Atlassian launched Jira Service Management, entering the IT service management market and extending Jira from software development into IT operations and service desk work.
2020Atlassian
Acquisition of Mindville for asset management
Atlassian acquired Mindville, an IT asset management company, to add asset and configuration management to Jira Service Management for enterprise customers.
2020SpaceX
Crew Dragon carries astronauts
SpaceX became the first private company to carry astronauts to orbit, restoring U.S. crew launch capability.
2021Atlassian
Acquisition of Chartio for data visualization
Atlassian acquired Chartio, a cloud data visualization and analytics company, to improve reporting across the product suite. The standalone Chartio product was later discontinued.
2021SpaceX
Acquired Swarm Technologies
SpaceX acquired Swarm Technologies.
2022Atlassian
Acquisition of Percept.AI for AI virtual agents
Atlassian acquired Percept.AI, an AI virtual agent company, to add automated ticket handling to Jira Service Management ahead of its broader AI push.
2023Atlassian
Acquisition of Loom for approximately $975 million
Atlassian acquired Loom, an asynchronous video messaging platform, for about $975 million, its largest acquisition by announced value, adding recorded video to Jira and Confluence workflows.
2023SpaceX
Starship flight testing begins
SpaceX conducted the first integrated Starship flight test, starting the high-risk development cycle for its next launch system.
2024Atlassian
Launch of Rovo AI assistant
Atlassian launched Rovo, an AI assistant embedded across its products, providing search, summarization, automation, and agents that draw on the Teamwork Graph.
2024Atlassian
Server end-of-life forces cloud and data center migration
Atlassian ended support for its Server product line in February 2024, requiring remaining on-premises customers to move to either Cloud or Data Center subscriptions.
2025Atlassian
Launch of Atlassian Collections
Atlassian began selling Collections, bundles of apps and AI agents priced around an outcome rather than per product: the Teamwork Collection, Software Collection, Service Collection, and Strategy Collection.
2025Atlassian
Announces end of life for Data Center products
On September 8, 2025, Atlassian announced the end of life of its Data Center products under a migration program called Atlassian Ascend.
2025Atlassian
Acquisition of The Browser Company of New York
Atlassian completed the acquisition of The Browser Company of New York, maker of the Dia and Arc browsers, on October 20, 2025, for a total purchase price of $488.3 million, taking the company into enterprise browsers.
2025Atlassian
Acquisition of engineering intelligence vendor DX
Atlassian acquired A Software Company, which trades as DX, on November 10, 2025 for $720.4 million in cash. DX measures how engineering investment turns into delivered work and is being folded into Atlassian Collections.
2025SpaceX
FY2025 revenue reaches $18.674B
SpaceX reported $18.674B in FY2025 revenue and a $4.937B net loss in its 2026 prospectus.
2026Atlassian
Restructuring eliminates roles covering about 10% of the workforce
Atlassian initiated a second restructuring plan in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, eliminating roles covering approximately 10% of its workforce to fund investment in AI and enterprise sales.
2026Atlassian
Rovo reaches over 80% of the Fortune 500
Atlassian reported that Rovo was in use at over 80% of Fortune 500 companies and that its MCP server and Teamwork Graph CLI passed one million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, more than doubling in a quarter.
2026SpaceX
Prospectus lists SPCX and Starlink scale
The 2026 prospectus described a Nasdaq listing under SPCX and about 10.3M Starlink subscribers as of March 31, 2026.
Acquisitions
Atlassian
- The Browser Company of New York Inc.2025$488.3M
- A Software Company (DX)2025$720.4M
- Loom, Inc.2023$975M
- Percept.AI2022Undisclosed
- Chartio2021Undisclosed
- Mindville2020Undisclosed
Questions about Atlassian vs SpaceX
Who is the CEO of Atlassian Corporation and SpaceX?
Atlassian Corporation is led by Mike Cannon-Brookes and SpaceX is led by Elon Musk. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Atlassian Corporation founded vs SpaceX?
Both Atlassian Corporation and SpaceX were founded in 2002, making them the same age.
How many employees does Atlassian Corporation have compared to SpaceX?
Atlassian Corporation employs approximately 13,301 people, while SpaceX employs approximately 22,621. SpaceX has the larger workforce at 22,621 employees, compared to Atlassian Corporation's 13,301. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Atlassian Corporation and SpaceX headquartered?
Both Atlassian Corporation and SpaceX are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Atlassian Corporation and SpaceX?
Atlassian Corporation was founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk.
Which company has a longer operating history — Atlassian Corporation or SpaceX?
Atlassian Corporation has been operating for approximately 24 years, making it the more established of the two companies. SpaceX has been in operation for around 24 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Atlassian vs SpaceX overview