Robinhood eyes offering US investors chance to buy fund that invests in private, pre-IPO companies

Robinhood Markets Inc. (ticker HOOD) wants to launch a publicly-listed fund that would offer U.S. retail investors the opportunity to invest in private companies, according to a statement on Monday.

The popular trading platform, which has been increasing its crypto-related offerings, is calling the fund the Robinhood Ventures Fund I.

"For decades, wealthy people and institutions have invested in private companies while retail investors have been unfairly locked out. With Robinhood Ventures, everyday people will be able to invest in opportunities once reserved for the elite," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said in the statement.

Robinhood previously unveiled plans to let EU users buy tokenized shares, or stock tokens, that would track high-profile private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. This new U.S.-focused fund will "hold investments for the long-term through IPO and beyond, and will seek to invest across a number of sectors."

The company said that investment opportunities have been shrinking in recent years, noting the number of publicly-traded U.S. companies has declined "from about 7,000 in the year 2000 to about 4,000 in 2024." Meanwhile, private companies have increased in number and value, "with the estimated value of these firms in the U.S. now surpassing $10 trillion," Robinhood said.

In order to get the necessary approvals to launch, Robinhood said it has filed an initial registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in order to register a public offering of the new fund's shares. Robinhood wants the fund to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the RVI ticker.