Robinhood to Launch a Private Markets Fund: Is this Wall Street’s Version of an ICO?

Retail brokerage Robinhood announced plans to launch a fund that would give individual investors access to a basket of private companies. The initiative is positioned as an effort to address persistent imbalances in access to capital markets.

However, the structure has drawn comparisons to the initial coin offering (ICO) era. Though the fund will be regulated, it carries several material risks.

Robinhood formally announced its Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) on Tuesday, anticipating that it would go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the coming weeks under the symbol RVI.

The fund is set to offer exposure to a range of private companies, including Revolut, Oura, Ramp, Databricks, Airwallex, Mercor, and Boom. Robinhood also plans to broaden the portfolio over time, adding more private firms, including Stripe.

Historically, investing in private markets was limited to institutions and the elite, but not anymore. With Robinhood Ventures, you can now get exposure to private companies like the ones listed below