As SpaceX, the aerospace corporations led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, moves toward an initial public offering (IPO), investor money is rapidly shifting into the aerospace theme. Funds that had been flowing into semiconductors are rotating into the aerospace sector.
According to the securities information portal Sebro on the 26th, on the 21st the No. 2 ETF most net bought by Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks was the "Tema Space Innovators ETF," which drew $27.88 million (about 41.9 billion won) in investment. The ETF's net-buy ranking was No. 7 ($13.19 million) on the 19th and No. 27 ($5.95 million) on the 20th, but as money poured in over a short period, the ranking climbed sharply.
The reason investment has poured into the ETF is cited as expectations for a SpaceX IPO. The ETF invests in aerospace-related corporations, including SpaceX special purpose vehicle (SPV) preferred stock (PFD, 10.7%), Rocket Lab (8.11%), Planet Labs (6.63%), and Filtronic (5.39%). In particular, because SpaceX is unlisted and direct investment is impossible, it is interpreted that indirect demand is concentrating via SPVs that hold unlisted equity.
As expectations for a SpaceX listing grow, money is also flowing into domestic aerospace theme ETFs. According to Koscom ETF Check, as of the 21st the No. 1 ETF by net inflows was "TIGER U.S. Space Tech," with 60.6 billion won coming in. The TIGER U.S. Space Tech ETF surpassed 1.3169 trillion won in net worth on the 21st, just 24 trading days after listing, setting a record for the shortest time to exceed 1 trillion won among domestically listed passive ETFs.
The "TIGER U.S. Space Tech ETF" is composed of aerospace corporations such as Rocket Lab (24.97%), Intuitive Machines (18.51%), Redwire (17.73%), and AST SpaceMobile (11.03%). Although it does not invest in SpaceX, investor sentiment appears to have been buoyed by expectations that a SpaceX listing will draw capital into the broader space industry.
Some analysts say investment funds concentrated in the semiconductor industry are moving into the space industry. In fact, most of the top ETFs by inflows last week (the 15th–21st) were products investing in semiconductors. At that time, SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus (633.5 billion won), TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 (621 billion won), and KODEX AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus (438.5 billion won) ranked among the top net-bought ETFs.
SpaceX is expected to launch its IPO as early as June 12. On the 20th (local time), SpaceX submitted a prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is said to have applied to list Class A common stock on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas.
According to foreign media, if SpaceX goes public, the corporations value is estimated at about $1.75 trillion (about 2,635 trillion won). That is similar in size to the combined market capitalization of Samsung Electronics (about 1,750 trillion won) and SK hynix (about 1,380 trillion won).
SpaceX plans to invest the funds raised through the IPO in expanding artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Currently, the Starlink satellite internet service accounts for about 60% of total revenue, but the company is pushing to shift to a revenue structure centered on AI infrastructure.
Kim Il-hyeok, a KB Securities researcher, said, "If Starship's launch expense falls and safety improves, expectations for building space data centers will grow," and noted, "Although the high likelihood of failure for space data centers is specified in the S-1, such ambitious goals themselves can act as factors supporting SpaceX's valuation."
However, experts note that investors should be mindful of structural risks when investing in SpaceX-related ETFs. Ko Kyung-beom, a Yuanta Securities Korea researcher, said, "Because SpaceX remains unlisted, direct investment is difficult, so one must invest indirectly through ETFs that hold equity," adding, "However, when investing via an SPV structure, it is hard to gauge investors' actual profits and losses, so attention to structural risks is necessary."