Peter Thiel has a ride on Spaceship

Silicon Valley heavy invests in millennial superannuation fund

Fintech-linked superannuation startup gets the nod from Thiel. 

Silicon Valley tycoon and Donald Trump ally Peter Thiel has tipped US$1 million into superannuation startup Spaceship, according to leaked documents received by The Australian Financial Review.

Mr Thiel, who became famous as one of the earliest backers of Facebook, has been linked to Spaceship in the past through a holding company that provided the financial services licence enabling the company to operate. 

Spaceship runs a superannuation fund that targets millennials and invests it in tech companies, including fintechs. 

Most Australian superannuation funds invest in banks, mining companies, supermarkets and other blue chip ASX stocks to minimise risk. Spaceship by contrast invests mostly in overseas companies and puts big data and Silicon Valley brands like Facebook, Google and Microsoft at the heart of his portfolio. 

According to the AFR, it is believed that Spaceship will use the new funding round to cut its fees, which have been a source of controversy in the past, together with its higher risk and lower returns.

Spaceship has declined to comment to the press. 

The source of the leak appears to be one of Spaceship’s major investors. Earlier this year, the company said that it would no longer share information with smaller investors owing to previous leaks.