Just caught wind that Chamath Palihapitiya is back in the SPAC game with a brand new blank-check company. This guy was basically the face of the whole SPAC boom back in 2020-2021, so naturally people are asking: is this 2021 all over again, or did he actually learn something?

He's looking to raise $250 million for something called American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp., ticker AEXA. The plan is to hunt for targets in energy, AI, DeFi, or defense. And yeah, his pitch makes sense on the surface — there are apparently 700+ private companies worth $1B+ that might want to skip the traditional IPO route.

But here's where it gets interesting. Palihapitiya's track record with SPACs is... honestly pretty rough. Back during the boom, he launched six main blank-check companies. One of them (IPOE, which became SoFi) actually made money for people — up 130% from the initial $10 offering price. Virgin Galactic? Down nearly 99%. Opendoor? Down 64%. Clover Health? Down 75%. Two of them (IPOD and IPOF) never even found targets and just returned capital. If you'd thrown $10k into each of those six SPACs, you'd be sitting on about $46.7k today instead of $60k. Not great.

Now, there are some structural differences this time that supposedly align incentives better. No warrants, and Palihapitiya's founder shares won't vest unless the stock pops 50% after a deal closes. On paper, that sounds like he's actually putting skin in the game. But the core issue remains: you're investing $10 per share into a completely unknown company. You're betting on Palihapitiya's ability to find a good deal at a good price, and the track record suggests that's not exactly his superpower.

The real talk? SPAC investing before any merger is announced is pure speculation. Early-stage growth companies are what usually end up in these deals — think SoFi before it even had a bank charter. Stable, profitable businesses rarely use SPACs. So if you're thinking about jumping in, keep your position small and only use money you can actually afford to lose. The Chamath Palihapitiya SPAC story might be compelling, but compelling doesn't always mean profitable.