Patience isn’t usually the first word associated with venture capital. But 137 Ventures just made a compelling case for the slow play. The San Francisco-based firm’s 2014 vintage fund, which closed at $137 million, is now valued at more than eight times its original size, putting it north of $1.1 billion.
The primary engine behind that performance: SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company that went public in June 2026 at an eye-watering valuation of roughly $1.77 trillion.
How a liquidity firm became a SpaceX whale
137 Ventures isn’t your typical venture fund. Founded by Justin Fishner-Wolfson and partners in the early 2010s, the firm carved out a niche that most VCs ignore entirely. Rather than writing early checks into fledgling startups, 137 Ventures provides structured liquidity solutions, essentially offering loans against private-company equity and facilitating secondary share purchases for founders, employees, and early shareholders of long-private tech companies.
The firm first started acquiring SpaceX shares back in 2011, when the rocket maker’s valuation hovered around $1 billion. Over the years, 137 Ventures kept buying, never once liquidating its position in the company.
By the time SpaceX hit public markets in June 2026, 137 Ventures held more than 1% equity in the company. At the IPO valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion, that stake was worth around $20 billion.
Beyond SpaceX: a broader portfolio thesis
SpaceX is the headline grabber, but 137 Ventures’ portfolio extends beyond rockets. The firm has also held positions in companies like Palantir and Anduril, two defense-tech firms that have seen their own significant valuation increases during the broader government-tech spending boom.
The firm’s overall assets under management now exceed $15 billion. Since the 2014 fund, 137 Ventures has raised multiple vehicles, including a $350 million fund in 2021. Total capital raised by early 2026 surpassed $700 million.
An 8x return on a fund of this size is remarkable by any standard. For context, top-quartile venture funds typically target 3x to 5x net returns over their lifetimes.