With stock tokens for OpenAI and SpaceX, Robinhood has already made a (negative) impression: The first attempt to let users invest in private companies went badly wrong in the summer of 2025. Ultimately, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev had to admit that the “tokenized shares” of OpenAI and SpaceX do not represent actual company stakes. But the idea of letting investors access popular, non-listed companies through new investment vehicles has not let go of the fintech industry.
Robinhood has now placed the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), an exchange-traded venture fund, on the New York Stock Exchange. The investment vehicle manages around 658 million dollars and enables retail investors to access stakes in major private technology companies for the first time. Previously, such investments were typically reserved for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
Issuance Details and Market Positioning
The fund issued 12.6 million shares at 25 dollars each in its initial public offering. The issuance volume thus fell short of original expectations. CFO Shiv Verma told Reuters that a large market gap exists, as retail investors have so far been largely excluded from private equity investments. Unlike traditional closed-end funds, RVI offers no redemption guarantee but instead relies on the tradability of fund shares on the stock exchange.
The ETF’s launch was mixed; on the first trading day on Friday, RVI lost more than 13 percent in value:
Portfolio and Investment Strategy
The RVI portfolio includes stakes in six private technology companies:
- Databricks (data analytics)
- Stripe (payment service provider)
- Revolut (fintech)
- Oura (health technology)
- Airwallex (fintech)
- Boom Supersonic (aviation)
The investment strategy focuses on a concentrated portfolio of companies that are leaders in their respective industries. The fund pursues a long-term approach and plans to hold stakes even after a possible initial public offering of portfolio companies.
Fee Structure
Investors pay an annual management fee of 2 percent of assets under management. A performance-based fee (carried interest) is not charged. This distinguishes the fund from traditional private equity vehicles, which typically charge an additional 20 percent of profits earned as a performance fee.
Disadvantages and Risks
The fund has several structural disadvantages that investors should consider:
Valuation Issues
The valuations of the private portfolio companies are updated only rarely. As a result, the fund’s stock price can deviate significantly from the actual net asset value (NAV) of the holdings. Investors thus cannot be certain whether they are buying or selling at a fair price.
Liquidity Risk
The fund can invest up to 100 percent of its assets in illiquid investments. This means that portfolio companies cannot be easily sold if liquidity is needed or market conditions change.
Limited Experience
The management company Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC was founded only in August 2025 and has limited investment history. Although the company is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser, it has no long-standing track record to demonstrate.
Concentration and Sector Risk
With only six holdings, the portfolio is highly concentrated. Moreover, all investments are in the technology sector, which increases diversification risk.
Accessibility and Transparency
An advantage of the fund is that investors do not need to qualify as “accredited investors” to invest. This restriction normally applies to private equity investments in the United States. The fund also publishes a holdings register regularly, so investors can always see which companies have been invested in. Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., handles the management.
In Europe, for example, Trade Republic has taken up the topic and has enabled its users since September 2025 to invest in tech unicorns through PE funds. The German fintech cooperates with investment companies Apollo and EQT. The German startup NAO also offers private equity investments.
