Robinhood Ventures Fund I has added stakes in payments group Stripe and artificial intelligence company ElevenLabs, expanding a portfolio designed to give public market investors exposure to late-stage private companies.
The closed-end fund completed a secondary purchase of Stripe shares and a primary investment in ElevenLabs. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RVI.
RVI is positioned as a vehicle for retail participation in private markets. It has no accreditation requirements and no investment minimums, according to the fund. It charges a management fee but does not levy performance fees.
“We’re excited to add Stripe and ElevenLabs to Robinhood Ventures Fund I and are proud to offer retail investors access to these frontier companies,” said Sarah Pinto, President, Robinhood Ventures Fund I. “They are helping shape the future of fintech and AI, and reflect RVI’s focus on investing in innovative companies operating at the forefront of their industries.”
Stripe stake
The fund bought $14,577,645 of Class B common stock in Stripe Global Holdings in secondary transactions. Stripe said the purchase had been previously announced.
Stripe describes itself as a programmable financial services company. Founded in 2010, it has dual headquarters in South San Francisco and Dublin.
It sells payments and financial tools to businesses, spanning payments, revenue management and money management. Stripe works with early-stage companies and public groups, according to RVI.
The structure of the transaction indicates the fund acquired shares from existing holders rather than subscribing for newly issued equity. Secondary deals are common for maturing private companies, where employees, early investors and other shareholders seek liquidity without an initial public offering.
ElevenLabs deal
RVI invested $19,999,971.34 in ElevenLabs through a primary transaction, buying Series D preferred stock. Such shares typically carry rights and protections that differ from ordinary stock.
ElevenLabs is an AI research and product company focused on audio, voice and realistic speech. Founded in 2022, it is based in London.
ElevenLabs said it serves millions of users and thousands of businesses. Its offering spans three platforms covering customer-service-style agents, tools for media creation and a developer interface.
ElevenAgents is described as a way for businesses to deploy voice and chat agents at scale. ElevenCreative is positioned for creators and marketers generating and editing speech, music, image and video across more than 70 languages. ElevenAPI provides developers access to the company’s AI audio models.
By participating in a primary round, RVI is providing new capital rather than buying existing shares. Primary funding rounds can be used to expand operations, hire staff and invest in research and development, though RVI did not disclose how ElevenLabs plans to use the proceeds.
Fund strategy
RVI is the first fund from Robinhood Ventures and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 6, 2026.
The portfolio is concentrated and focused on private companies. It now includes Airwallex, Boom, Databricks, ElevenLabs, Mercor, Oura, Ramp, Revolut and Stripe, with additional companies expected over time.
The approach differs from diversified listed investment trusts or broad venture capital funds. Instead, it resembles a curated basket of well-known private technology and fintech businesses, with exposure delivered through a listed share.
Access to private companies has been a long-running theme in wealth and asset management, especially as high-growth technology firms stay private for longer. Large institutions and specialist investors have traditionally dominated the market. Retail access has remained limited in many jurisdictions because of risk, liquidity constraints and disclosure standards.
As a closed-end fund, RVI has a fixed number of shares. Investors typically buy and sell shares on an exchange rather than redeeming directly with the fund. That structure can lead to discounts or premiums between the share price and the value of the underlying holdings, depending on supply and demand.
Robinhood Ventures serves as the investment adviser and is a subsidiary of Robinhood Markets.
Investors can buy or sell RVI shares through an intermediary or broker. The fund also expects to add more portfolio companies over time.
