Catenaa, Tuesday, August 19, 2025- Chamath Palihapitiya, known as the “SPAC King,” is launching a new special purpose acquisition company, American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp., aiming to raise $250 million to take a private company public.
The vehicle targets sectors including artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, defense robotics, and renewable energy, according to an SEC filing.
The filing highlights Palihapitiya’s goal of backing companies that “fix fundamental risks from our interconnected global order while reinforcing American exceptionalism.”
He emphasized the need for new company formation, sustainable private market funding, and a willingness of technology firms to go public to support US global leadership.
On DeFi, Palihapitiya noted the growing integration between traditional finance and decentralized finance, pointing to the success of firms like Circle and mainstream adoption of stablecoins.
The SPAC will have a 24-month window to identify a viable business for merger and public listing on the NYSE.
Palihapitiya previously earned the “SPAC King” title after launching 12 SPACs through Social Capital, including Virgin Galactic, Opendoor, Clover Health, and SoFi.
Many of these SPACs initially raised billions but later saw valuations drop significantly. Key executives from Social Capital, including Jeffrey Vignos and Steven Trieu, will join the new SPAC’s leadership team.
The move comes amid growing interest in equity tokenization, with firms such as Kraken and Robinhood exploring onchain representations of pre-market stock to expand retail access to private funds.
Palihapitiya warned investors of substantial risks, including potential total loss, underscoring the speculative nature of SPAC investments.
