Chamath Palihapitiya, once the face of the SPAC boom, has seen his investment empire struggle in recent years. The former Facebook executive turned venture capitalist gained attention for taking several companies public via Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), a model that allowed private firms to bypass traditional IPOs.
However, as market conditions shifted and speculative enthusiasm waned, many of these investments suffered significant losses, leaving investors questioning their faith in the so-called ‘SPAC King.’
The decline of the SPAC boom
During the pandemic-era stock market frenzy, Palihapitiya leveraged his media presence and aggressive promotion to position SPACs as a gateway for retail investors to get early exposure to high-growth companies.
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His Social Capital firm launched multiple SPACs, all under tickers beginning with ‘IPO’—from IPOA to IPOF—bringing companies like Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE), Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV), and Opendoor Technologies (NASDAQ: OPEN) to public markets.
At their peak, these companies attracted strong investor interest, but as economic conditions changed, many SPAC-backed firms collapsed, some by over 90%.
Palihapitiya’s personal divestment of shares in certain companies, including SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI), has also drawn criticism, with some comparing his early exits to a classic ‘rug pull. ’
How a $1,000 investment in Palihapitiya’s portfolio fared in 2025
Investors who bet $1,000 at the start of 2025 on Chamath Palihapitiya’s SPAC-backed companies have faced a turbulent ride, with most stocks struggling to regain lost ground.
Virgin Galactic, once seen as a game-changer in commercial space travel and even likened to Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) by analysts, has seen its stock plummet to $3.61, marking a 38% year-to-date decline.
Clover Health has fared slightly better, currently trading at $3.84, up 21% YTD, though still far from its once-lofty valuation.
Opendoor Technologies, an online real estate platform, has also struggled under the weight of rising interest rates, falling 19% YTD to $1.29 at press time.
Meanwhile, ProKidney (NASDAQ: PROK), a biotech firm developing cell therapies for kidney disease, has slumped to $1.16, down 31% YTD.
To put the portfolio’s performance into perspective, a hypothetical $1,000 investment evenly split across these four stocks at the start of the year would remain in the red, now worth $832, reflecting a 16.75% loss.
With many SPAC-backed companies now trading at a fraction of their peak valuations, the debate persists over whether these declines are a consequence of broader market conditions or a reflection of a system that favored early investors at the expense of long-term shareholders.
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