Recently, I noticed a pretty interesting phenomenon. The game rules of Silicon Valley venture capital circles, which typically require millions of dollars to start investing, are being broken from within. Naval Ravikant, the author of "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" and co-founder of AngelList, recently launched a fund called USVC through AngelList, directly packaging private equity for retail investors.

What’s the most attractive part? You can get in with just $500. No need to be a “qualified investor”; ordinary people can buy in too. What does this mean? It means you can participate in investments in companies like OpenAI and xAI before they go public, rather than waiting until after the IPO to jump in.

Looking at the fund’s portfolio reveals how strong the lineup is. xAI accounts for about 20%, which is Elon Musk’s AI company. Then there are star projects like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Vercel. Basically, it bundles the hottest AI infrastructure companies right now. Naval Ravikant himself serves as the chairman of the investment committee, and his core view is straightforward: if you want to get rich, you need to own assets, not just rely on trading your time.

But there are some details to note. First, USVC isn’t like an ETF that you can buy and sell anytime. It uses a “interval fund” structure, aiming to allow redemptions of up to 5% of the fund’s net asset value each quarter, as decided by the board—this isn’t an absolute guarantee. So liquidity is still limited.

Next, let’s look at the fees. On the surface, a 1% management fee doesn’t seem high, but combined with the underlying fund’s fees (usually 2% management plus 20% of profits), plus a maximum 3% sales load, the actual total expense ratio could be between 2.5% and 3.6%. That’s a significant cost for long-term investors.

Market opinions on USVC are actually quite divided. Supporters see it as a great opportunity for retail investors to participate in the redistribution of AI wealth, and Naval Ravikant’s move is indeed a financial innovation. But some warn that the valuations of companies like OpenAI and xAI are at all-time highs, and opening this to retail investors might just be early investors seeking liquidity exits, passing the overvaluation risk onto ordinary people.

Honestly, USVC is suitable for those who are long-term bullish on AI, can tolerate volatility, and aren’t in urgent need of their money. But if you’re a short-term trader, the limited liquidity and higher costs could be a big drawback. Essentially, it’s still a high-risk investment—just with a lower barrier to entry.