Robinhood files confidential registration for second retail venture fund targeting early-stage startups
Following the strong performance of its inaugural fund, Robinhood has submitted a confidential filing for RVII, a new vehicle designed to let unaccredited investors participate in growth and early-stage deals via a standard brokerage account.
Robinhood has filed a confidential registration with regulators for RVII, its second retail venture fund, marking a strategic expansion into growth and early-stage startups. This move follows the successful public listing of its inaugural fund, RVI, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in early March and has since more than doubled in value.
While the first fund focused primarily on late-stage companies, RVII is designed to cast a wider net by investing in earlier stages of the startup lifecycle. This distinction is significant as it allows unaccredited retail investors to participate in private market opportunities through a regular brokerage account, bypassing the federal rules that currently restrict such investments to accredited individuals with substantial net worth or income.
The inaugural fund, RVI, currently holds stakes in ten late-stage companies including Airwallex, Boom, Databricks, ElevenLabs, Mercor, OpenAI, Oura, Ramp, Revolut, and Stripe. Market enthusiasm for the AI prospects of these underlying startups has likely fueled the stock's rise, with the fund closing at $43.69 per share after debuting at $21.
Unlike traditional venture capital firms, the funds operate as publicly traded entities with daily liquidity, meaning shares can be bought or sold any day the market is open. Furthermore, the structure includes no carry, ensuring Robinhood does not take a percentage of investment profits. The fundraising target for the new RVII vehicle has not yet been announced by the company.
CEO Vlad Tenev has articulated a long-term vision where retail investors participate in seed and Series A rounds, potentially altering how startups raise their earliest capital. He noted that the aspiration is for retail investors to be a significant chunk of these early rounds, similar to how they participate in public markets, allowing them to benefit from the appreciation that increasingly happens in private markets.
The filing coincides with a broader rally in AI-related stocks, which has driven the value of RVI's holdings. While the performance of RVI has been strong despite falling short of its initial $1 billion fundraising goal, the new fund aims to enter a sector that carries higher risk but offers the potential for greater returns.
