How VC firm 1789 Capital hit $1B+ in assets with Donald Trump Jr. as a partner; its recent deals include investments in SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, and Perplexity
& has now topped $1 billion. #WasteFraudAbuse https://www.reuters.com/... Bluesky: Wendy Siegelman / @wendysiegelman : 1789 Capital tops $1 billion in assets - firm was founded by Omeed Malik, Chris Buskirk and Cambridge Analytica funder Rebekah Mercer - last year Donald Trump Jr became a partner — Recent investments include Perplexity AI, Juul Labs, defense startup Hadrian — www.reuters.com/investigatio... Forums: r/neoliberal : Trump-linked venture fund 1789 Capital tops $1 billion in assets
Context & Ripple Effects
1789 Capital was founded by Omeed Malik, Chris Buskirk, and Rebekah Mercer, and its portfolio spans AI, space, neurotechnology, consumer products, and defense. Crossing the $1 billion asset threshold gives that investment mix greater weight in markets where access to late-stage private companies is scarce.
The firm also sits within a wider set of reported Trump-linked financial relationships, including boutique-bank financing for Trump-family crypto deals and Donald Trump Jr.'s later Kalshi advisory equity stake. That makes its growth relevant not just as a fundraise, but as another channel joining politically prominent figures to private-market investing.
First-order effects
- 1789 Capital gains a larger capital base and stronger signaling power when pursuing follow-on rounds and competitive allocations in companies such as SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, Perplexity AI, and Hadrian.
- Portfolio companies gain another well-capitalized investor whose partnership includes Donald Trump Jr., while the firm’s limited partners gain exposure to a concentrated set of high-profile private technology bets.
Second-order effects
- Funds competing for allocations in frontier AI, space, and defense companies face a better-capitalized bidder; scarce private-company access can increasingly matter as much as a fund’s sector expertise.
- The combination of political prominence and technology investing is likely to draw closer diligence from founders, co-investors, and limited partners on governance, reputational risk, and potential conflicts—without implying that any conflict exists.
Third-order effects
- If similar funds continue attracting capital, access to leading private technology companies may become more concentrated among investors able to combine large pools of capital, elite networks, and public influence.
- The broader result could be a sharper separation between companies with access to relationship-driven late-stage financing and those reliant on conventional venture channels, particularly in capital-intensive sectors.
The trend: This is one data point in the concentration of frontier-tech financing among investors that pair large private capital pools with influential networks.