CalPERS Doubles $500 Million Bet Thanks to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Deal

California Public Employee’s Retirement System has nearly doubled its investment in just over a year through a bet on radio spectrum that is now part of a major deal with SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX).

CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., invested more than $500 million with Washington-based private equity firm Grain Capital, which acquired a portfolio of wireless spectrum licenses used to carry phone calls and text messages, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

SpaceX, which is working to expand its Starlink network into a director competitor to traditional wireless carriers such as AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), agreed last month to purchase Grain’s entire portfolio of 800-megahertz low-band spectrum licenses for $8 billion. 

The acquisition gives SpaceX additional capacity to deliver cellular connectivity to devices indoors through its network of more than 10,000 satellites.

The transaction is expected to generate a distribution to paid in capital multiple of nearly two times for CalPERS, effectively returning at least $1 billion on its original investment, Bloomberg reported. 

CalPERS committed capital to Grain Specturm Holdings V in October 2025, a fund that subsequently acquired the 800MHz licenses from T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS), according to documents on the pension fund’s website. CalPERS also invested in Grain’s spectrum assets through a separately managed account.

The transaction, which still requires approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, would enable SpaceX to integrate its satellite-to-cell technology with a ground-based network, expanding connectivity to devices across a broader range of locations.

The FCC has expressed support for developing next-generation satellite communications systems that can extend coverage to areas underserved by traditional networks while strengthening the U.S. position in the space-based telecommunications industry. The agency also established incentives encouraging spectrum owners such as Grain to partner with satellite operators like SpaceX.

Founded by David Grain in 2007, Grain Capital had initially targeted $6 billion from the sale of spectrum licenses before reaching the $8 billion agreement SpaceX.

Photo: Norbert Maurice / Shutterstock – ejk