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Robinhood to Open Pre-IPO Investing to Retail Traders With New Fund

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Robinhood Markets Inc. has unveiled plans to give on a regular basis merchants entry to personal firms earlier than they go public, marking one among its most formidable efforts but to increase retail participation in markets historically reserved for the rich.

On Monday, the company announced the launch of Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), a closed-end fund that has filed an preliminary registration assertion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

RVI Fund Designed to Track Private Firms Through IPOs and Beyond

According to the announcement, the fund, managed by Robinhood Ventures DE LLC, a completely owned subsidiary, is designed to provide retail buyers publicity to personal corporations in sectors akin to know-how whereas they’re nonetheless privately held.

Once accredited, RVI shares are anticipated to commerce on the New York Stock Exchange underneath the ticker RVI and will probably be out there by means of brokerages, together with Robinhood Financial.

“For many years, rich individuals and establishments have invested in personal firms whereas retail buyers have been unfairly locked out,” mentioned Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev.

He added, “With Robinhood Ventures, on a regular basis individuals will probably be ready to put money into alternatives as soon as reserved for the elite.”

The initiative comes at a time when the variety of U.S. public firms has shrunk dramatically. According to Robinhood, there have been about 7,000 listed corporations in 2000 in contrast with roughly 4,000 as we speak. In distinction, the worth of personal firms has swelled, with U.S. personal corporations now estimated at greater than $10 trillion.

By making a publicly traded fund, Robinhood makes an attempt to bridge the hole, giving small buyers entry to part of the market that has been rising however stays largely inaccessible.

The fund will goal a concentrated portfolio of personal firms thought of to be on the “frontiers of their industries.” Robinhood mentioned the investments will probably be held for the long run, persevering with by means of IPOs and past.

The technique mirrors the corporate’s earlier strikes in Europe, the place it launched personal tokenized shares earlier this yr, permitting EU prospects to achieve publicity to distinguished personal names akin to OpenAI and SpaceX.

The submitting with the SEC continues to be underneath evaluation, and shares can’t be bought till the registration assertion is asserted efficient. The firm emphasised that this system is structured to align with public market guidelines whereas extending alternatives that have been as soon as closed to retail merchants.

The announcement follows a sequence of milestones for Robinhood in current months. In September, the retail brokerage was named to the S&P 500 Index, sending its shares greater in after-hours buying and selling.

Robinhood inventory (HOOD) has greater than doubled this yr, climbing over 150% yr to date and shutting above $101 earlier than surging previous $108 on the S&P inclusion information.

The agency additionally reported stronger-than-expected earnings in the second quarter of 2025, with income rising 45% yr on yr to $989 million, surpassing analyst estimates.

Earnings per share got here in at $0.42, in contrast with expectations of $0.31, boosted by a 65% improve in transaction-based income, notably from cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood has additionally been increasing its footprint in digital property. In June, it completed its $200 million acquisition of crypto trade Bitstamp, which has since recorded greater buying and selling volumes than these on Robinhood’s core platform.

The transfer is seen as central to Robinhood’s broader ambitions in real-world asset tokenization.

AI Startups Dominate VC Flows in 2025 as Crypto Funding Wavers

Venture capital exercise has accelerated in 2025, pushed by file allocations to synthetic intelligence startups.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, international VC funding reached $189.9 billion within the first half of the yr, up from $152.2 billion in the identical interval of 2024.

The rebound follows a powerful first quarter for AI, with PitchBook reporting that AI companies secured $73 billion, together with OpenAI’s $40 billion spherical led by SoftBank.

By distinction, crypto funding has proven indicators of volatility. Data from CryptoRank present greater than $10 billion raised by blockchain startups within the second quarter, the strongest stage since 2022. Tokenization, stablecoin infrastructure, and decentralized finance have been key themes. June alone accounted for over half of Q2’s whole, reflecting renewed curiosity in digital asset initiatives.

Still, different datasets paint a extra cautious image. Figures compiled by Galaxy Digital show crypto VC flows plunging to $1.97 billion throughout 378 offers in the identical quarter, down 59% from Q1.

The sharp decline adopted an inflated begin to the yr, when Binance secured a $2 billion injection from UAE-linked fund MGX. Excluding that spherical, the pullback would have been much less extreme, however sentiment towards early-stage ventures stays blended.

Mining and blockchain infrastructure captured the biggest share of allocations, with U.S. startups regaining almost half of all capital raised.

Analysts say rising rates of interest and competitors from various funding autos, together with spot ETFs and digital asset treasuries, proceed to strain enterprise funding within the sector.

The publish Robinhood to Open Pre-IPO Investing to Retail Traders With New Fund appeared first on Cryptonews.

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