Brokerage firm Robinhood is planning a closed-end fund that would give retail investors access to its venture capital portfolio — a space traditionally reserved for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
The brokerage disclosed Monday that it has filed a Form N-2 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register shares of the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), which will be managed by its new subsidiary, Robinhood Ventures DE.
If approved, shares of RVI will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where they can be bought and sold through participating brokerage platforms.
Robinhood said the fund will back companies “at the frontiers of their respective industries,” though it did not name specific sectors. Venture funds typically focus on high-growth areas such as emerging technologies, blockchain and Web3.
Opening these investments to retail investors would mark a shift in access. Until now, participation in early-stage, private companies has largely been limited to venture capital firms and wealthy backers.
Robinhood’s venture strategy could extend into digital assets, an area where the company has been expanding aggressively. It already offers cryptocurrency trading, recently acquired major exchange Bitstamp and bought Canadian crypto firm WonderFi for $179 million.
The brokerage has also pushed into tokenization, offering tokenized stocks and experimenting with “private stock tokens” — a product that has drawn scrutiny from some industry observers.
Related: Robinhood’s 24/7 tokenization push threatens NYSE revenues: Galaxy Digital
Crypto venture capital is on the rise
Venture capital funding has rebounded in 2025, led by a surge in US startups focused on artificial intelligence. Global VC investment totaled $189.3 billion in the first half of the year, up from $152.4 billion in the same period of 2024, according to S&P Global.
While crypto venture funding remains a small component of the overall VC landscape, the sector drew $10 billion in the second quarter alone — its strongest showing since 2022, CryptoRank data show. Companies raised more than $10 billion in Q2, with June contributing over half that amount.
Key themes driving crypto investment include tokenization, stablecoin infrastructure and decentralized finance. Under US securities law, many of these early-stage private offerings remain limited to accredited investors, curbing retail participation.
Robinhood’s proposed venture fund, if approved, could offer an indirect path for retail investors to gain exposure to an asset class they have largely been excluded from.
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