Dan Ives launches closed-end fund targeting private AI companies with $200M raise

Dan Ives, the tech analyst who spent years as Wall Street’s most vocal AI bull, is putting his money where his mouth has been. Ives is launching a closed-end fund called Ives Ultra AI Opportunities Inc., which aims to raise $200 million through an IPO expected to price on September 29, 2026. The fund will target equity and equity-related securities in private, late-stage US artificial intelligence companies. From analyst desk to fund manager Ives left Wedbush Securities on July 1, 2026, after years as the firm’s most prominent technology research voice. His departure wasn’t a retirement. He immediately formed Yorkville Ives & Co., a new venture that blends research, banking, trading, and investment under one roof. At Wedbush, Ives launched the Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF in 2025, which focused on publicly traded AI companies. The new fund shifts from passive public-market tracking to active private-market investing. Why late-stage private AI matters Closed-end funds are one of the few structures that can hold illiquid private assets while still trading on a public exchange. They can trade at significant premiums or discounts to their net asset value, meaning investors mi...