Mike Winston
Investor. Founder. Builder.
CFA Charterholder and public company founder focused on AI infrastructure, data centers, and event-driven investing.
About
Mike Winston is an investor and serial founder who has built and taken two companies to the public markets: AI Infrastructure Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: AIIA) and Jet.AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: JTAI). With more than two decades of experience spanning merger arbitrage, alternative asset management, and AI-driven technology, Winston brings an investor's discipline and a founder's orientation to every venture he pursues.
He began his career at Credit Suisse First Boston, where his telecom research team was ranked #1 by Institutional Investor Magazine. He went on to co-manage a $1 billion merger arbitrage and special situations book at Millennium Partners before founding Sutton View Group, an alternative asset management platform that has advised one of the largest academic endowments in the world.
Today, Winston's focus is on the infrastructure layer powering the AI economy: data centers, power generation, and the capital structures that support them.
Current ventures$1B+
Capital Deployed
20+
Years Active
Mike Winston
Co-Sponsor & CEO, AI Infrastructure Acquisition Corp.
CurrentWork
My current focus is on public-company leadership across the AI infrastructure and data center ecosystem — from capital formation to operational execution at scale.
AI Infrastructure Acquisition Corp.
A NYSE-listed SPAC targeting data centers and AI infrastructure across the full "chip to grid" value chain.
Jet.AI, Inc.
A Nasdaq-listed AI-technology company, repositioned in 2025 toward data center infrastructure and power generation using aero-derivative engines.
Philosophy
Investment Philosophy
Mike Winston's approach to investing is rooted in merger arbitrage, a discipline that rewards precision, patience, and the willingness to hold a view others have abandoned. Whether allocating capital in event-driven situations or building companies at the frontier of AI infrastructure, his framework is consistent: identify structural shifts early, underwrite them rigorously, and build toward them with conviction.
He views compute infrastructure not as a technology trend but as a civilizational asset, one that will define economic and geopolitical leadership for decades to come.
Career
Career
A NYSE-listed SPAC targeting the full "chip to grid" value chain — from compute infrastructure to power generation — built to meet accelerating demand driven by AI workloads.
Founded and took public on Nasdaq, originally as a private aviation and AI-technology platform. In 2025, completed the divestiture of aviation assets and repositioned the company toward data center infrastructure and power generation using aero-derivative engines.
Founded an employee-owned alternative asset management platform focused on event-driven and intrinsic value investing. Advised one of the largest academic endowments in the world. Co-led successful activist litigation against the Dole Foods board of directors, securing a 35% increase in total consideration for shareholders.
Co-managed a $1 billion merger arbitrage and special situations book alongside a senior partner through Catapult Capital Management — one of the most demanding disciplines in active investing.
Covered the telecom sector as part of an equity research team ranked #1 by Institutional Investor Magazine — the beginning of a career defined by rigorous, evidence-driven analysis.
Education & Credentials
MBA, Finance & Real Estate
Columbia Business School
BA, Economics
Cornell University (including one year at London School of Economics)
CFA Charterholder
Member, Economic Club of New York
Director's College
Stanford Law School
Tiger 21 Elevate Program
Harvard Business School