Blue Owl's SpaceX Investment: A 10x Return and Strategic Hedge
April 30, 2026 - 5:28 pm
The alternative asset manager’s co-CEO, Marc Lipschultz, disclosed impressive returns on a Q1 earnings call, highlighting the success of their SpaceX investment. Blue Owl Capital sold approximately half its SpaceX position at a staggering $1.25 trillion valuation, generating 10 times its original investment. They continue to hold the remaining shares.
"Specifically at SpaceX, we made about 10 times our money on that investment," Lipschultz stated, according to Reuters.
Blue Owl initially invested in SpaceX through both debt and equity, becoming one of the company's earliest institutional lenders and subsequently purchasing shares in 2021. The recent sale corresponds to the post-merger valuation after SpaceX acquired Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI.
If Blue Owl holds its remaining SpaceX shares until the planned IPO in June 2026, unrealized gains could significantly increase.
Navigating AI Disruption through Strategic Hedging
The most intriguing aspect of Lipschultz's comments was framing this SpaceX gain as a hedge against potential losses in Blue Owl’s software loan portfolio. With AI models displacing some software companies, there's a risk of defaults.
This strategic context reflects a common concern within the private credit industry—firms like Blue Owl, Ares, Apollo, and Blackstone have invested heavily in technology and software companies, now facing disruption from AI itself. By acknowledging this simultaneous exposure to AI risk, these firms are recognizing the need for diverse risk management strategies, with equity upside in AI infrastructure being one such approach.