Finance
Wall Street Falls for Moonshots Again as SPAC Deals Chase Rockets, Robots and AI
The blank check is back. SPAC sponsors are lining up a fresh wave of mergers aimed squarely at frontier tech, with the latest deals targeting robotics, rockets, AI, quantum computing and nuclear power, per a Reuters Breakingviews column published Friday.
The deal list reads like a science fiction catalog. Pono Capital Four is buying space drone maker Blackstar Orbital Technologies at a 380 million dollar valuation. Plus Automation, which builds software for autonomous trucks, agreed on September 3 to merge with Texas Ventures Acquisition III at an 800 million dollar equity value. On September 2, Three Lions Acquisition closed a 100 million dollar IPO aimed at sports, hospitality, leisure and real estate. Targets circulating in the pipeline include Agility Robotics, Ursa Major Technologies, Robseek Intelligence, EigenQ and NuCube Energy.
Skeptics have receipts. Of some 700 blank check mergers completed since 2012, only about 10 percent trade above their 10 dollar guide price, per SPAC Research, and shares of SpaceX and Cerebras have traded softer since their debuts earlier this year. But the structure has a built in escape hatch most IPOs skip: investors can park cash in Treasury bills and get their money refunded if they dislike the announced deal. This round's sponsors appear to be leaning into real hardware and real contracts to earn that trust.
If frontier tech exposure is your thing, the SPAC window is opening again. The playbook is simple: read the merger filings, favor revenue over renderings, and remember the refund option is there for a reason.
Sources
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