SpaceX Considers Additional Capital, Establishing a $150B Valuation
According to a Bloomberg report, Elon Musk's spacecraft manufacturing and satellite communications company SpaceX has begun the process of raising additional funding. Those close to the company estimate the new funding round to value the company at more than $150B, up from a valuation of $36B just a few years prior. Known for assisting with a number of projects including ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, conducting private missions for governmental agencies and even space tourism, SpaceX has "dominated the market for commercial space launch". With this new round of funding, SpaceX is projected to surpass ByteDance as the world's most valuable private company. Notable early SpaceX investors include Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.
"The transaction being discussed represents a jump from the $125 billion valuation the company commanded earlier this year...Terms including the price haven’t been finalized and could still change..."
Bloomberg
Private Funding Pulse Check
Cathexis Holdings has participated in a $4.7M Series A funding round for Decentro, an API platform for Banking Integrations
Validic, a leader in deploying digital health and remote care programs, has finalized on a $12M Venture round that was led by the Arkin Family Office, Arkin Holdings
Virgin Management engaged in a Series A investment with Airly, a leading cost-effective sensing-as-a-service solution for hyperlocal air quality monitoring and control, totaling $5.5M
Adit Ventures and IAG Capital Partners took part in a $29M Series B deal with Cornelis Networks, a technology company delivering high performance computing, analytics and artificial intelligence solutions
FTX Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Dubbed the Modern-Day Enron
Following a collapse of epic proportions, FTX's founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. The filing comes on the heels of a widespread cryptocurrency crash which saw Bitcoin fall more than 8% in addition to FTX's token "FTT", which declined more than 50%. Along with the bankruptcy, billions of dollars of customer deposits will largely be subject to a court litigation with unknown resolution. In the filing, more than 130 entities were listed with ties to FTX, revealing the wide spread effect this collapse had on the industry. Prior to the firm failing, FTX was well on its way to cementing itself as one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, serving more than 5 million users worldwide and facilitating more than $700B worth of trades.
"You’re seeing this wealth destruction...It’s affecting all the direct investors and, two, it’s really affecting people who are involved in the space completely. You really do have to call into question where you’re holding your money, how transparent they are, where they’re domiciled."
Peter Tchir, Academy Securities
China Dominates the World Lithium Trade, U.S. Seeks Independence
Since 2015, the size of the global electric car market has grown from nearly one million to more than 20 million vehicles expected by the end of this year. To facilitate the production of all these vehicles, large amounts of lithium ore are required to manufacture the battery, with no clear substitute. Historically, China accounts for nearly 80% of the world's lithium-ion battery manufacturing, compared to 5% in the U.S. However, in Kings Mountain, NC there lies a defunct lithium mine, where Albemarle Corp. seeks to restart operations and complete the first self-sufficient supply chain for electric vehicles in the United States. Local EV manufacturers like Ford, General Motors and Tesla have expressed commitment to investing in domestic plants to produce batteries. Currently, the country has only one operational lithium mine in Silver Peak, NV. As demand for lithium surges, increasing lithium mining capacity remains critical to keeping up with EV demand.
"We’re seeing a significant shift towards EVs on a scale that has never happened in the past. It’s almost basic common sense that the U.S. has to focus on bringing on some of that supply chain locally so it has better control of it."
Ram Chandrasekaran, Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
Former Soros Family Office Employee Launches New Fund
A former employee of George Soros' family office, Soros Fund Management, has decided to launch a new fund. Jack Dwyer, founder of Sydney-based Conduit Capital, established the firm in 2020, taking a uniquely progressive approach to investing with open-source research. The launch of this fund marks the first step into a fund-level offering. Conduit Capital has stated that it intends to invest in roughly 20 to 30 "differentiating" companies that would generate an annual return in excess of 10% over five-year rolling periods. In addition to his time spent at Soros Fund Management, Dwyer boasts 17 years of multi-asset investment experience, including time as a senior partner at London-based Pacific Point Partners.
"Conduit planned to combine bottom-up research with a top-down read on the world, against structural changes such as the largest wealth transfer in history and millennials and Gen-Z’s increasing share of the population."
Choreo, LLC has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Richmond, VA-based RIA Cherry Bekaert Wealth Management LLC with approximately $1B in AUM (Yahoo)
VettaFi, a data and analytics company, has purchased Advisor Perspectives, the leading interactive publisher for RIAs, wealth managers and financial planners (AdvisorPerspectives)
CI Financial Corp. plans to split its U.S. and Canada businesses in an effort to reduce debt risk, as the firm continues to move forward with its IPO (ThinkAdvisor)
Written by:
Andrew Popp | Data Research Associate
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