Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is set for a $50 billion+ windfall from a $600 million bet on SpaceX as IPO nears

Twenty years ago, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund made a series of investments in Elon Musk’s rocket company that many investors viewed as an ambitious long shot. Today, that bet is on track to become one of the largest venture capital wins ever recorded.

As SpaceX prepares for what could be the biggest IPO in market history, Founders Fund’s roughly 3% stake in Musk’s company is expected to be worth more than $50 billion. The firm invested about $600 million across multiple funding rounds dating back nearly two decades, according to Bloomberg.

The numbers are staggering. A $600 million investment turning into more than $50 billion would place the SpaceX investment among the most successful venture bets of all time.

Bloomberg reported that Founders Fund, led by Musk ally Peter Thiel, accumulated its stake over years of backing the company. At the planned IPO price of $135 per share, that position would generate a windfall exceeding $50 billion.

“Founders Fund, a venture firm led by Musk’s longtime associate Peter Thiel, owns a roughly 3% stake in SpaceX after investing $600 million in the company over several rounds dating back nearly 20 years. At the company’s $135-per-share IPO price, that stake is worth more than $50 billion,” Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The news comes just over a year after Founders Fund closed a $4.6 billion venture fund to back growth-stage companies including SpaceX, Stripe, and Anduril.

From $600 Million to $50 Billion: How Founders Fund Turned a Two-Decade SpaceX Bet Into a $50 Billion Windfall

The gains are not limited to Founders Fund. Early SpaceX backers across Silicon Valley are preparing for a historic liquidity event.

Among them is venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which Bloomberg reported holds a stake worth more than $10 billion. If realized, it would represent the largest return in the firm’s history.

SpaceX is seeking to raise up to $75 billion through its public offering, according to regulatory filings. The company plans to offer roughly 555.6 million shares at $135 each, giving it an implied valuation of nearly $1.77 trillion.

That valuation would place SpaceX among the most valuable companies on Earth and make its public debut larger than any previous IPO.

Investor demand appears strong. Reports indicate that institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds have submitted orders far exceeding the available shares, reflecting confidence in SpaceX’s long-term growth prospects.

The offering arrives at a pivotal moment for the company. SpaceX continues to dominate commercial launch services through its Falcon rocket program, operates the fast-growing Starlink satellite internet network, and is investing heavily in Starship, the spacecraft Musk hopes will eventually carry humans to Mars.

The company has evolved far beyond a launch provider. Investors increasingly view SpaceX as a combination of an aerospace company, a satellite communications giant, a defense contractor, and an artificial intelligence infrastructure platform.

That broader vision has helped push the company’s valuation into territory once reserved for the largest technology firms.

For Founders Fund, the IPO marks the culmination of nearly two decades of conviction. The firm’s earliest investments were made when SpaceX was still proving that privately funded spaceflight could work. Today, that same position is poised to deliver tens of billions of dollars in returns.

The outcome serves as a reminder of how venture capital’s biggest rewards often come from backing companies years before the rest of the market believes in them.

If SpaceX completes its IPO at the targeted valuation, Peter Thiel’s $600 million bet will have turned into a fortune measured in tens of billions, cementing its place among venture capital’s most remarkable success stories.