Overview

North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner, who oversees roughly $200 billion of assets for the state’s teachers, firefighters and police officers, announced on CNBC’s Squawk Box that the pension fund will not purchase any shares in SpaceX’s upcoming initial public offering because the company’s valuation, cited at $1.75 trillion to $1.8 trillion, is deemed excessively high.

SpaceX intends to price its IPO on Thursday and commence trading on Friday, offering 555.6 million shares at $135 per share. This pricing is expected to raise about $75 billion and will place the aerospace manufacturer’s market value at approximately $1.8 trillion.

Briner noted that the North Carolina pension system already holds private‑equity‑style positions in artificial‑intelligence firms, having invested $40 million in OpenAI and committed roughly $250 million to Anthropic earlier in the year. The combined value of these AI holdings has since risen to more than $600 million, a gain Briner described as a result of earlier mispricing that the fund was able to exploit.

Although the state will not acquire a direct private‑side stake in SpaceX, Briner indicated that the pension fund expects to gain indirect exposure through its holdings in public‑equity index funds that will include SpaceX once the company becomes publicly traded.

Key Figures

  • Pension fund assets under management: ~$200 billion
  • SpaceX IPO share count: 555.6 million
  • IPO price per share: $135
  • Expected proceeds: ~$75 billion
  • Valuation target: ~$1.8 trillion
  • Existing AI investments: $40 million in OpenAI, $250 million in Anthropic (current combined value > $600 million)

Rationale

Briner emphasized the fund’s objective of delivering a high‑single‑digit, predictable return for retirees, stating that valuation considerations are central to meeting that return target. He described SpaceX’s valuation as “big” and indicated that the pricing issue has been a concern for the past year.

Future Exposure

The pension system plans to obtain SpaceX exposure indirectly via its public‑equity index positions after the IPO, rather than through a direct private‑placement purchase.