Best known in recent years for his investments in pre-public companies that went public via SPAC merger, Chamath Palihapitiya has been making investments in private companies for years. One of those investments became a huge win in 2025 with NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) acquiring Groq.
Chamath Palihapitiya Depressed After Deal
Palihapitiya was an early investor in Groq, investing a reported $10 million in the company in 2017 and $52.3 million additionally in 2018.
Those investments helped Palihapitiya have a large ownership stake and get a position on the board of directors.
When Nvidia announced a $20.6 billion purchase of Groq, Palihapitiya said it was incredible for him and for the validation of the company. However, he wasn’t celebrating.
“Felt incredibly down,” Palihapitiya said on a recent appearance on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
Palihapitiya said instead of feeling happy for the sale and the return on his investment, he told his wife he thought he was depressed.
“You gotta just take the win here,” Palihapitiya’s wife Nathalie Dompe told him.
Palihapitiya Happiest Before Milestones, Not After
During the podcast and the conversation on the Groq deal with Nvidia, Palihapitiya revealed that he has a tendency to think of all the things that didn’t go right when something positive happens.
He said that while the internet was celebrating the deal and contemplating how much money Palihapitiya made, he was thinking about what could have been better.
“I have felt the happiest before something great has happened,” Palihapitiya said.
The investor recalled feeling happy before the Facebook IPO as an early investor in the company, but less happy after the offering happened. He also recalled that he was happiest before the Golden State Warriors won an NBA Championship than he was in the moments after it happened.
Palihapitiya said he often feels worse after than before.
The conversation could demonstrate the nature of Palihapitiya’s investment style and work ethic, not allowing time to focus on all of the wins, and instead worry about the losses or what’s still left.
Photo: CarlaVanWagoner via Shutterstock
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