Naval Ravikant, the author of "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" and co-founder of AngelList, has launched USVC (U.S. Venture Capital), a registered interval fund that opens private AI investments to non-accredited investors for the first time. Minimum entry: just $500. The fund targets high-growth tech startups, with a portfolio that includes Elon Musk's xAI (weighted at roughly 20.23%), OpenAI, Anthropic, Sierra, Vercel, Crusoe, and Legora.
How It Works: Semi-liquid structure, fees at 2.5%-3.6%
Unlike traditional VC funds that lock capital for 7–10 years, USVC uses an interval fund structure: the board can permit quarterly redemptions of up to 5% of net asset value (NAV). This "semi-liquid" design gives investors some exit flexibility while preventing panic-driven runs. However, the overall expense ratio is estimated at 2.5% to 3.6% (including underlying fund fees of 2% management and 20% carried interest), plus up to 3% sales load.
Naval himself chairs the investment committee. In a post on X, he argued that “to get rich, you need to own assets, not rent your time.” USVC aims to let ordinary people participate in private companies during their highest-growth phase, rather than buying after the public market has already priced in the alpha.
Critics: Retail investors as exit liquidity?
AngelList has facilitated over $125 billion in financing over 15 years. Supporters call USVC a democratization of venture capital. Skeptics counter that firms like OpenAI and xAI are already valued at hundreds of billions of dollars. Opening them to the masses, they warn, may allow early backers to use retail investors as “exit liquidity,” offloading overvalued stakes. For believers in the long-term AI thesis, USVC offers a low-cost, regulated entry point. For short-term traders, the locked liquidity and high fees could prove painful.