AngelList’s USVC Gives Investors Exposure to OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI—Starting at $500

A new investment product called USVC is designed to disrupt venture capital norms and provide retail investors access to some of the most successful private companies—like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI—for as little as $500. 

The venture capital fund is offered by investment infrastructure firm AngelList, and is available for all U.S. investors. 

“Go back to the 1500s, you set sail for the new world to find tons of gold—that was ‘adventure capital.’ Early-stage technology is the modern version. It says we are going to create something new, and it’s risky. It’s daring,” AngelList co-founder and USVC Investment Committee Chairman Naval Ravikant said in a post on X. 

“But ordinary people can’t invest until it’s old, until it’s no longer interesting, until everybody has access to it. By the time a stock IPOs, most of the alpha is gone. The adventure is gone. Public market investors are literally last in line,” he said. 

USVC aims to buck that trend, allowing individuals to participate regardless of their net worth by bypassing accredited investor rules—which require an individual to have more than a $1 million net worth. 

Those investing in USVC pool their capital with others, which is then spread across three distinct investment vehicles—emerging fund managers, company growth rounds, and secondary equity sales. 

“This is not an index fund. Venture returns concentrate in a handful of outliers, and the best deals don’t let just anyone in,” the site’s FAQ says. “Our strategy is to use judgment, access, and data to pick the right managers and opportunities. Closer to how institutional endowments approach venture than to passive indexing.”

Unlike traditional venture investing, which may charge carrying fees and take a percentage of the profits, USVC will use a flat 1% management fee. Additionally, it may not require an exit, either via IPO or acquisition, to pay out investors. Instead, Ravikant said, “We’re aiming to let investors redeem up to 5% of the fund every quarter”—though he couldn’t guarantee the action. 

Based on data from the end of March, USVC has invested around 44% of its capital into seven private firms, with exposure to xAI accounting for its largest holding. When it adds exposure to other firms, those investing in USVC will gain exposure as well.

Retail investors can similarly gain exposure to private companies via Robinhood, which announced Wednesday that its Robinhood Ventures Fund I purchased $75 million worth of stock in AI giant OpenAI. The publicly traded fund lets everyday investors gain exposure to private startups.