Back in June 2019, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan wrote a check for roughly C$300 million (about US$220 million at the time) to buy into SpaceX. It was the very first bet placed through the fund’s newly created Teachers’ Innovation Platform, a vehicle designed to chase high-growth technology deals. Six years later, that quiet wager is on track to become one of the most lucrative pension fund investments ever made.
With SpaceX now eyeing an IPO at a valuation of up to US$1.75 trillion, OTPP’s initial stake could balloon to an estimated US$11.6 billion. That’s roughly 50 times the original investment, the kind of return that venture capitalists dream about and pension fund managers almost never see.
How a pension fund out-traded Silicon Valley
OTPP, which oversees approximately C$279 billion in assets on behalf of around 346,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario, has historically been more adventurous than most of its peers.
The Teachers’ Innovation Platform, since rebranded as Teachers’ Venture Growth, was built specifically to give the fund exposure to high-growth private companies before they hit public markets. SpaceX was the inaugural investment.
