Justin Ernest has deployed nearly $500 million across 10 companies via Sabertooth Capital using special purpose vehicles instead of launching a traditional VC fund.

Over the last 12 months, Sabertooth Capital invested nearly $500 million into 10 companies including Anthropic, Anduril, Base Power, Databricks, PsiQuantum, and SpaceX, with checks ranging from $10 million to $275 million.

Instead of launching a formal VC fund (which Ernest says takes 12 to 18 months), he uses special purpose vehicles (SPVs)—single-deal funds that allow about 30 smaller institutional investors to buy shares in companies where Ernest has secured allocations.

Startups like Anthropic and Anduril are cracking down on unauthorized SPVs, but Sabertooth gains credibility because Ernest is directly vetted and respected by the companies themselves, offering smaller limited partners confidence in their investments.

Sabertooth has realized a major return from Groq, which was licensed and acqui-hired by Nvidia for $20 billion late last year, with SpaceX's IPO scheduled for this Friday and Anthropic's expected public listing later this year.