- Chamath Palihapitiya has confidentially filed seven new SPACs with the SEC, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The buzzy investor publicly supported five SPACs for a combined total of $ 3.7 billion in 2020.
- Palihapitiya expressed interest in forming an additional group of SPACs focused on biotechnology.
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Chamath Palihapitiya’s enthusiasm for special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, may be even more profound than his Wall Street disciples and social media followers realize.
The investor publicly funded five SPACs for a combined total of $ 3.7 billion in 2020 through his technology investment company, Social Goods. However, a new report by the Wall Street Journal found that Palihapitiya confidentially filed seven new SPACs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, pointing to new developments to come.
Although the industry and company goals for these seven SPACs remain unknown, Palihapitiya has been working hard to bring others to the public through the
SPAC
process, which works differently from a traditional initial public offering. His recent contributions include Virgin Galactic Holdings, Opendoor Technologies, Clover Health Investments and SoFi.
Earlier this week, Palihapitiya sold his personal stake in Virgin Galactic, withdrawing a total of $ 211 million from 6.2 million shares, according to a SEC document. He started selling shares in December, stating on Twitter at a time when he would need money to help finance “several new projects starting in 2021.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources, Palihapitiya expressed interest in forming an additional group of SPACs focused on biotechnology in the future.
A former Facebook executive, Palihapitiya married his experience in technology and investment prowess to become an important figure in the growing SPAC market. He has many followers on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter, and is a regular on CNBC.
His followers became so robust that Twitch approached him to use his live streaming platform to make his business announcements, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Palihapitiya said that his knowledge of social media helped him connect with a new generation of investors.
“No one will hear [Warren] Buffett, “he said to Bloomberg.” Buffett doesn’t have the energy to say what he said 30 and 40 years ago in 2021. And that’s okay, he basically earned the right to relax and be the GOAT, but there have to be some other people who take that mantle, take the bat and do it this also for this younger generation in the language they understand. “