Robinhood launches second venture fund, opening private startup access to retail investors

News Editor

2026-08-15 07:14:12

Robinhood has rolled out its second venture capital vehicle, Robinhood Ventures Fund II, extending access to private startup investing beyond institutions and wealthy clients. The fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 14 at $25 per share and raised about $225.5 million. According to the company, more than 133,000 Robinhood users invested on the first day, while the share price traded near $23.83 intraday on Friday. RVII focuses on early-stage private companies with high growth potential, with a particular emphasis on startups backed by Y Combinator. The accelerator’s past investments include OpenAI, Stripe and DoorDash. Robinhood said the portfolio currently holds stakes in about 80 private companies, with 64% allocated to the technology sector. Named holdings include Shortwave Communications, SharedGenes, Samora AI and Speedtrain, all tied to AI-related themes. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has said the firm wants to lower the barriers that keep ordinary investors out of private markets, especially as more companies stay private longer. Still, the new product comes with trade-offs: RVII uses a business development company structure, is closed-end in nature, offers less liquidity than a traditional ETF, and carries a 4.08% annual expense ratio.

Robinhood has launched its second venture fund, giving retail investors a route into private startup investing through Robinhood Ventures Fund II, or RVII.

The fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 14 at $25 per share and raised about $225.5 million. Robinhood said more than 133,000 users invested on the first day of trading. On Friday, the fund traded near $23.83 intraday.

Focus on Y Combinator-backed startups

RVII is built to invest in early-stage private companies that Robinhood describes as having high growth potential, with a particular focus on startups from Y Combinator. The startup accelerator has previously backed companies including OpenAI, Stripe and DoorDash.

Robinhood said the fund’s portfolio currently includes about 80 private companies, with 64% of its investments allocated to technology. Its holdings span several AI-related businesses, including AI email automation company Shortwave Communications, AI health assistant SharedGenes, multilingual AI voice agent Samora AI, and AI infrastructure company Speedtrain.

Company says it wants broader access to private markets

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev previously said the company wants to lower the barriers for ordinary investors seeking access to private markets. As more companies choose to stay private for longer, some wealth-creation opportunities are shifting away from public markets and into private ones.

Sarah Pinto, head of Robinhood Ventures, said the next wave of strong startups is already taking shape and that retail investors do not need to wait until an IPO to take part in early-stage growth.

Structure and fees may limit appeal

RVII is structured as a business development company, or BDC, making it a closed-end fund with lower liquidity than a traditional exchange-traded fund. It also carries a 4.08% total annual expense ratio, well above that of passive ETFs tracking the S&P 500.

Robinhood launched its first venture vehicle, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, in March this year. The company said it plans to introduce more private-market investment products to meet retail demand for access to private companies.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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