Family offices look past SpaceX IPO for space-sector bets
CNBC reports wealthy investors are treating space startups as infrastructure and defense plays, not just wagers on rockets or exploration.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Family offices are expected to be among the investors benefiting from SpaceX’s planned initial public offering Friday, CNBC reported. The deal is also drawing attention to a wider shift: ultra-wealthy investors say they are looking at space companies as infrastructure and defense businesses, not only as high-profile exploration ventures.
CNBC reported that investment firms tied to billionaires including former eBay President Jeff Skoll and AutoZone’s Pitt Hyde are positioned to gain from the SpaceX listing. But investors interviewed by CNBC said the opportunity set extends beyond Elon Musk’s company, even as SpaceX remains the dominant name in private space.
Starlink, data networks and hardware draw interest
Gary Lauder, a cosmetics heir and venture investor, told CNBC he has exposure to SpaceX through a special purpose vehicle and two venture funds. He said his interest was tied to Starlink’s satellite communications business rather than space tourism.
Lauder told CNBC that his early investing background included telecommunications, and that he studied satellite communications in the early 1990s. He framed satellites as a practical communications tool rather than an astronaut’s dream.
Jason Blanck, who launched a family office under his own name in 2024, told CNBC he is focused on the enabling technology behind space activity. He cited areas such as critical hardware and data networks, saying public-market attention is often centered on launch rates and development costs while long-term family capital can look elsewhere in the value chain.
European space companies enter the frame
Robin Lauber’s Infinitas Capital bought SpaceX shares through a secondary transaction in early 2025, CNBC reported. Lauber cited Musk’s record and Starlink’s growth as reasons for the investment, and said the valuation at the time appeared reasonable compared with the more than $1.75 trillion valuation now expected, according to CNBC.
Lauber told CNBC he would have considered selling some SpaceX shares before the IPO if he could have found a buyer at an acceptable discounted price. He said he remains open to selling locked-up shares at a discount to recover the initial investment while keeping some exposure.
CNBC reported that Lauber is also evaluating European space investments, including Isar Aerospace, a German launch services company. He is also considering a new fund from Alpine Space Ventures, whose founding partners include a former SpaceX executive, and told CNBC that European sovereignty is becoming a major investment theme.
Defense demand shapes the thesis
Jon Kutler of Admiralty Partners told CNBC that space and aerospace investing was far less fashionable in earlier decades. Kutler, a former U.S. Navy officer who later worked in aerospace and defense investment banking, left Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1992 to build an investment firm focused more closely on the sector.
Kutler later sold that firm in 2002 and shifted attention to his family office, Admiralty Partners, CNBC reported. Its investments include Firefly Aerospace, a rocket maker with customers including Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Space Force.
Kutler told CNBC that family offices can have an advantage in aerospace because new technologies may require long holding periods. Unlike many private equity funds, family offices are not always bound by fixed timelines for returning capital.
He also warned CNBC that the excitement around SpaceX does not remove the risks in aerospace investing. Kutler said federal spending can be uneven, that exploration-focused companies may face a tougher route to profits, and that cuts to research funding could weaken the future startup pipeline.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.