Notwithstanding his mixed track record, Chamath Palihapitiya has taken what some may view as a dangerous step by establishing a new special purpose acquisition business.
Palihapitiya described what will be known as the American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp., which is formed in the Cayman Islands tax haven, in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The new SPAC will look to acquire or integrate a business in the decentralized finance, energy production, artificial intelligence, or defense sectors.
Palihapitiya’s investment history is covered in the S-1 filing, including his time as a Facebook executive, his achievements as a venture capitalist who has backed companies including Slack Technologies and Box, and his career with SPAC.
Here is the most recent performance record for the individual who was dubbed the SPAC king, based on official figures. It is not much that different from MarketWatch’s earlier analysis. He led the private investment in public equity, or PIPE, but did not personally sponsor it, therefore his investment in the SPAC that became MP Materials MP -3.76% is not included.
Some of his SPACs returned the funds to investors because they were unable to find a merger partner.
| SOFI+1.94% | 137% |
| Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V | |
| Akili | -95.70% |
| Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. II | |
| ProKidney |
| PROK+7.63% | -76.40% |
| Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. IV | |
| Source: SEC filing/MarketWatch calculations |
“We believe that retail investors should only participate if (a) this investment is a small part of an otherwise diversified portfolio, (b) this investment is a quantum of capital they can afford to completely lose and (c) if they do lose their entire capital, they will embody the adage from President Trump that there can be ‘no crying in the casino,” the prospectus states.
Trump is not actually known for saying that, though it was what Argentina President Javier Milei said when a cryptocurrency promoted on his social-media handle plunged in value.
Palihapitiya will also take a 30% promote fee, rather than the standard 20%, though it will be conditional on achieving a 50% premium to the IPO price.
Santander U.S. Capital Markets is the underwriter.
