Aug 21 (Reuters) - Axiom Space has raised $350 million in a funding round led by Saudi Arabia's Aljazira Capital and Korean healthcare firm Boryung as the startup works with NASA to develop a private space station. Axiom said the round took its total raise so far to $505 million and made it the space startup to receive the second-most funding in 2023, only behind Elon Musk's SpaceX. Axiom, which also has a $1.26 billion contract with the U.S. space agency NASA to develop spacesuits for use on the moon and other space programs, expects the first module of its private space station to launch by 2026. The company has also trained astronauts taken by SpaceX rockets to the International Space Station (ISS) as the once government-dominated space industry in the United States becomes increasingly privatized. Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Axiom, Arsheeya, Shailesh Organizations: Saudi Arabia's Aljazira, NASA, Elon, SpaceX, International Space, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru