Retail investors can also invest in SpaceX, "civilian crowdfunding" skyrocketed 9 times in 4 days after going public

Ask AI · How did the rumors of SpaceX’s IPO drive the stock price of the VCX fund to soar?

On March 25, during pre-market trading in the U.S., the publicly traded venture capital fund Fundrise Innovation Fund (VCX.US, hereafter VCX), which went public last Thursday, surged about 8%. Over the past four trading days, VCX rose from an opening price of $31.25 all the way to $314.99.

VCX is a publicly traded venture capital fund launched by Fundrise, listed on the New York Stock Exchange on March 19, 2026. Because it holds shares in companies like SpaceX and OpenAI, VCX has become a “people’s venture capital” for retail investors to directly invest in these popular tech companies before their IPOs.

According to the prospectus, VCX’s core assets consist of a basket of equity in private technology companies, including common stock, preferred stock, or convertible bonds. Most of these technology companies are in the pre-IPO stage, making it almost impossible for ordinary retail investors to participate directly. Additionally, the fund holds equity in publicly listed companies, accounting for about 1% of net assets, while cash, fixed-income assets, and others account for about 14%. VCX’s initial asset management scale (AUM) exceeds $650 million, with over 100,000 investors.

As of February 15, VCX’s top ten holdings included the AI company Anthropic, which has a flagship product named Claude, accounting for 20.7% of VCX’s net assets. SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, accounted for 5.0% of the fund’s net assets, ranking sixth. Moreover, the shares of OpenAI, which powers ChatGPT, represented 9.9%, while EpicGames, the developer of the game “Fortnite,” accounted for 3.5%.

After VCX’s listing, ordinary investors can trade the fund like stocks, thus indirectly holding its underlying private tech assets and becoming indirect shareholders of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. However, the prospectus also emphasizes that due to the poor liquidity of the underlying unlisted equity, subjective valuations, and high volatility, there could be significant losses or even a total loss, and the fund’s concentration in the tech sector, especially in AI, makes it susceptible to industry cycles, competition, and regulation. The fund’s stock price may far exceed its net asset value after listing.

The main factor that triggered the surge in VCX’s stock price may be the recent IPO rumors surrounding SpaceX. The IPO process for SpaceX is reportedly speeding up, with the market generally expecting it to go public around June 2026, potentially becoming the largest IPO in U.S. history.

Recently, several overseas financial media outlets reported that SpaceX plans to submit confidential IPO documents to regulators by the end of March or early April 2026, targeting a listing time around mid-June 2026, which may coincide with Elon Musk’s 55th birthday (June 28) and an “astronomical theme” of planetary alignment. SpaceX’s valuation is expected to reach between $1.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion, far exceeding previous private market valuations of around $800 billion to $1.25 trillion. SpaceX’s revenue will primarily come from its Starlink satellite internet service, rocket launches, Starship operations, and potential AI and data center applications.

In addition to business development prospects, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 may modify rules for SpaceX, which would lead to massive buying from passive index funds, thereby boosting its stock price.

According to public information, the Nasdaq Exchange has proposed a “FastEntry” fast track and is soliciting feedback. If a new stock ranks among the top 40 by market capitalization in the Nasdaq 100, it can be directly included after 15 trading days post-listing. SpaceX is expected to reach a market value of $1.75 trillion after its IPO, placing it among the top six in the market, thus meeting the “top 40” requirement. S&P Dow Jones Indices is also discussing rule modifications to allow super IPOs to be quickly included. According to current standards, a listed company must meet conditions such as a market value exceeding $22.7 billion, being registered in the U.S., and being listed for at least 12 months. If the timeline rules are modified, SpaceX could be directly included in the S&P 500 index within weeks to months after its listing.

It is estimated that the global fund size tracking the Nasdaq 100 is approximately $450 billion to $550 billion, while funds tracking the S&P 500 index exceed $24 trillion. Once SpaceX is included in the relevant indices, a significant influx of passive buying will pour into this stock, potentially driving its stock price significantly higher.

As retail investors flock to VCX, attempting to get a share of SpaceX’s IPO, many have also mentioned another “people’s venture capital” fund, DestinyTech100 (DXYZ.US). This fund was listed in March 2024 and also holds shares in unicorns like SpaceX and OpenAI. Its stock price surged over 200% in the initial listing phase but then experienced significant volatility, halving from its peak and underperforming the market for a long time.

(Author Du Yuan)