Robinhood is doubling down on early-stage investing. The company launched its second venture fund, Robinhood Ventures Fund II, on Monday. The fund targets seed-stage startups coming out of Y Combinator, the famed accelerator.
Targeting the earliest stage
This is a shift for Robinhood. Its first venture fund focused on later-stage companies. Fund II goes earlier, betting on founders before they have a product or revenue. The fund is a closed-end vehicle, meaning investors can't pull money out once it's in. The expected price per share is $25.
A $25 share price
The $25 price tag is notable. It's low enough to attract retail investors who might not normally get into a venture fund. But it's also a closed-end structure, which can trade at a discount or premium to net asset value. Robinhood is essentially packaging Y Combinator deal flow into a product its users can buy.
Expanding private-markets push
The move extends Robinhood's push into private markets. The company already lets users trade shares of companies like SpaceX and OpenAI on its platform. Now it's going even earlier, to the seed stage. The fund will invest in a basket of Y Combinator startups, giving investors exposure to a portfolio of early-stage companies.
The order window opened Monday. It's not clear how long it will stay open or how much the fund aims to raise. Robinhood hasn't said whether it will invest its own capital alongside the fund.
