The SPAC King Is Back With a New $250M Grift… (No Crying In The Casino)

We used to be a proper country… 

Chamath Palihapitiya, is back on his bull sh*t. The once self-proclaimed SPAC King and now the SPAC Court Jester Emeritus, has returned from exile with a fresh $250 million shell company. He’s calling it American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp. A, which sounds like something Steve Bannon mumbled into a bourbon glass, but make no mistake: this is Chamath’s next moonshot. Or delusion. At this point, it's hard to tell the difference.

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, this is the same guy who once raised ten SPACs, failed to close four, and left retail bagholders clutching 75% drawdowns like casino chips at last call. Of his six deals that actually consummated, only SoFi is trading above water. Everything else is a wasteland of wrecked charts and “stonk only goes up” desperation. But apparently that’s not enough to stop him. Because… you know, nothing says American Exceptionalism like running it back with a structure Wall Street has already declared DOA LOL. 

(Source: Bloomberg) 

To his credit, Chamath is at least trying to rebrand the hustle. This SPAC comes without the usual warrant candy, but with a juiced-up 30% “promote”... a.k.a, shares he only gets if the stock pops 50% above $10 post-deal. He wrote in his letter that it’s about “alignment with shareholders.” Translation: daddy wants his upside but promises he’ll only take it if he actually wins. 

What’s more is that in his letter, Chamath even warned retail investors not to play unless they’re willing to lose everything. He invoked Trump’s casino wisdom: “no crying in the casino.” Which is ironic, because SPAC land is basically just a casino where the house collapses on you while you’re still cashing in your vouchers. And yet, the moral here is that regardless if we want it or not, SPACs are staging a weird little revival this year. More than $16 billion has already been raised across 81 new shells, fueled by crypto clowns and Trump-adjacent sponsors. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Call it zombie season… because these things keep crawling out of the dirt no matter how many times you shoot them in the head. Which means, Chamath coming back now isn’t shocking. It’s on brand. It’s America. This man will sell you hope, “alignment,” and American Exceptionalism in the same breath while you watch your Robinhood balance decay in real time.

As for the offering, Banco Santander is leading it presumably because nobody else was free to host this séance. It’ll trade under the ticker $AEXA until it finds a target to which Chamath says he’s looking for a company aligned with his “historical areas of business expertise.” For those unfamiliar, those include: Selling SPACs to CNBC while the market was high on stimulus fumes, running the All-In podcast like a degenerate, and convincing retail they’re participating in capitalism and not just being slow-roasted by it.

(Source: Giphy) 

It’s a narrow niche for sure, but I’m sure there’s a target out there that fits: mediocre, hype-able, and just credible enough to pass through the due diligence meat grinder without throwing a red flag. Bottom line? SPACs are back because everyone’s forgotten how they end. And Chamath is just the guy who got there first, left early, and now wants another shot at the roulette table. Meaning, going forward, keep your eyes on this story and place your bets accordingly, friends. And as always… no crying in the casino. Until next time… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Robinhood as mentioned in the article.