SpaceX Executives on Private Visit to CERN
Part of Elon Musk’s inner circle at SpaceX met on Thursday in Geneva with selected European investors. An exclusive operation led by the founder of the young investment firm UNIQ, Lucas Sturdza
The globe of CERN in Geneva hosted meetings between part of the SpaceX executive staff and about thirty investors.
CERN
Perfect timing for this discreet visit from part of the executive team of SpaceX to CERN, on the same day as the first spacewalk by a civilian as part of the Polaris Dawn mission. It was precisely the Vice President of SpaceX responsible for the “private astronauts” program, Jonathan Hofeller – a long-time companion of Elon Musk – who made the trip on Wednesday evening, accompanied by members of his staff. Facing them were about thirty investors among the largest fortunes in Europe – as well as representatives of a royal family from the Middle East – with assets totaling several tens of billions of francs in attendance.
At the helm was the young financier Lucas Sturdza, 31 years old, founder of UNIQ Investments SA in Geneva, who highlights that the event exclusively welcomes “clients or very close relations of UNIQ.” A specificity in the Swiss market, the newly established investment firm – regulated by FINMA – offers entry into equity positions in the most prominent tech stars globally, particularly those from California.
Opportunities strictly reserved for its wealthy clientele: “Our innovative approach is to offer a tailored portfolio diversification, including a wide range of both public and private, liquid and illiquid positions. This type of very exclusive deals is part of that.” Lucas Sturdza openly acknowledges being inspired by Iconiq, the multifamily office that manages part of the wealth of billionaire entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, with whom he had the opportunity to work in the past.
Ticket to Space
On the agenda for the evening, visits to the superconducting magnet test hall (SM18) and the antimatter factory (AD) continued with discussions about SpaceX’s flagship program, that of private space flights, which was naturally on everyone’s lips. The investors were then able to engage directly and informally with the SpaceX team, learning more about the behind-the-scenes of the space specialist. For Lucas Sturdza, this type of event contributes to building his very private club objective. “It is also a way to rethink investment by adding direct human contact, generally inaccessible to investors when it comes to leading tech companies.”
Among the curiosities of the evening, the invitation card took the form of a “ticket to space,” alluding to the space flights that SpaceX is opening to the public. A way to invite attendees to embark on a weightless getaway for more than 50 million? “More of a wink,” Lucas Sturdza puts it, for whom “the eventuality cannot be excluded, although it is not the primary objective.”
It is conceivable to see this type of event organized by UNIQ more often in the future; Lucas Sturdza emphasizes direct and personal contact with executives and/or founders of companies like Klarna, Redwood Materials, Databricks, Human Interest, SpaceX, or the rising star of artificial intelligence Groq. All established tech companies with high growth potential, whose leaders could soon in turn make the trip to the end of the lake.