PIF orders into the SpaceX IPO?

The Public Investment Fund is reportedly joining GCC sovereign funds in directly wagering on the SpaceX IPO. The fund placed an order between USD 1-5 bn, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The Kuwait Investment Authority is matching with an order of the same size, while the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is expected to put in a sizable commitment of its own.

What we don’t know: It’s still not clear how much of the order is anti-dilution versus new money, according to the business information service.

PIF held SpaceX exposure for months through two separate doors. Its AI champion Humain saw its stake in xAI converted into SpaceX shares after the merger of the two Elon Musk companies, with the stake potentially valued at up to USD 4 bn, according to our math. The fund also owns 17% of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding, which is carrying a direct 0.34% SpaceX stake that could reach some USD 5.7 bn in value if SpaceX gets its targeted USD 1.75 tn valuation.

The Kingdom is not buying alone. Abu Dhabi’s MGX holds stakes in Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI — three of the most-watched AI names at once — while the QIA has backed both Anthropic and xAI. Across the Gulf, sovereign money has kept flowing into AI, private credit, and tech platforms even as Iran struck regional targets.

REMEMBER- SpaceX is offering 555.6 mn shares at a fixed USD 135 each — a set price rather than the usual range — to raise about USD 75 bn, topping Aramco’s USD 29.4 bn float in 2019 as the largest IPO ever. Some 30% of the offering is carved out for retail against a typical 5-10%, and institutional demand has reportedly run to about twice the shares on offer, with several investors bidding USD 10 bn or more.

What’s next?

SpaceX is set to price today and begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX tomorrow. We will keep an eye out on how far the stock moves off the USD 135 line, repricing every Saudi and GCC holding in real time. We’re also watching whether OpenAI and Anthropic — which filed to list this week and the last — hand the Gulf a second and third AI cashout.

DATA POINT- Bloomberg calculates the three big AI IPOs could add USD 3.6 tn to US exchanges combined.