Two months after listing its first venture fund on the stock market, Robinhood is gearing up to launch a second. The firm has filed a confidential registration for RVII, a typical step allowing it to navigate the approval process before disclosing details.
In contrast to its first fund, which holds stakes in 10 late-stage companies such as Airwallex, Boom, Databricks, ElevenLabs, and OpenAI, RVII will focus on growth-stage and early-stage startups. Early-stage startups carry more risk but offer greater returns potential.
The fundraising objective for RVII is not yet finalized, the company shared in a blog post. Initially, Robinhood aimed to raise $1 billion for its first fund but fell short by several hundred million.
Despite this shortfall, the first fund has performed well. Trading as RVI on the NYSE, it debuted at $21 a share and has since more than doubled to $43.69, fueled by market enthusiasm for AI.
Both funds address the limitation on who can invest in startups. Federal rules restrict investment in private companies to “accredited” investors, excluding ordinary investors from lucrative early growth stages. RVI and RVII are designed to let anyone invest in private startups through regular brokerage accounts.
“You can think of [Robinhood Ventures] as a publicly traded venture capital firm with daily liquidity. No accreditation requirements and no carry,” said Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev at a recent conference. Daily liquidity allows shares to be traded freely each market day, unlike traditional VC funds. No carry means Robinhood doesn’t take a cut of investment profits.
The most valuable AI startups have recently moved from early stages to billion-dollar valuations, with much appreciation happening privately, inaccessible to most investors.
Tenev’s broader vision includes allowing retail investment in early funding rounds of startups, stating, “Retail should be a significant part of early rounds, much like in public markets,” at the conference. Allowing ordinary investors to benefit from private market appreciation is the goal.
If this vision materializes, it could reshape early-stage startup funding, with retail investors participating alongside venture firms in the most rewarding, yet risky, early rounds.