Chamath Palihapitiya, former Facebook executive and once-called SPAC king, is making a high-profile return with American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp. A, a $250 million blank-check company.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) will seek mergers in artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized finance (DeFi), energy production, or defense, according to its latest regulatory filing.
As per the filing, the plan is to offer 25 million shares at $10 each. It will be listed under the ticker ‘AEXA’ on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and Banco Santander will lead the offering. Further, Steven Trieu, Group CFO at venture firm Social Capital, has been appointed as the CEO, with Palihapitiya acting as Chairman.
Palihapitiya, Founder of Social Capital, has invested in key startups across these sectors, including AI firm Groq, clean-energy company Palmetto Clean Technology, and defense innovator Saildrone Inc. He also backs crypto-related ventures and has been a long-time advocate of Bitcoin, blockchain, and stablecoins.
Investors are chasing high-growth sectors. CoreWeave Inc. shares have jumped 132% since March, Nvidia Corp. added $1.1 trillion in market value over the past year, and DeFi platforms like Circle Internet Group Inc. and Bullish surged after recent IPOs. Defense stocks, including Palantir Technologies Inc., soared nearly 400% in the past year.
Despite the excitement, Palihapitiya warned retail investors about the high risks, noting that five of his previous SPACs, including Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., lost significant value post-merger.
Experts say Palihapitiya’s profile and connections could help the SPAC succeed. Louis Camhi of RLH Capital noted that “serial dealmakers like Chamath often attract investors eager for high-growth exposure.”
Jay Ritter, finance professor at the University of Florida, added that the SPAC’s success depends on finding a quality target at a fair price.
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