- Robinhood has launched its second venture fund, raising $200 million focused on Y Combinator startups, following its filing for the fund.
- The new fund, known as Robinhood Ventures Fund II (RVII), plans to offer 7.6 million shares at $25 each and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RVII on August 13, pending regulatory approval.
- Goldman Sachs is serving as the lead bookrunner for the RVII offering, with Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS, and Wells Fargo acting as joint bookrunners.
- Unlike its first fund, which focused on later-stage companies, RVII will invest primarily in seed-stage businesses linked to Y Combinator, including current and former participants.
- RVII will charge a 2% annual management fee and a 20% incentive fee on realized gains, differing from the first fund's 0% performance fee.
- Robinhood's first venture fund raised approximately $658.4 million and focused on more mature private companies, which the company described as carrying lower risk than early-stage ventures.
- Y Combinator has supported over 5,000 startups since 2005, with these companies achieving a combined valuation of more than $1.3 trillion and producing over 100 unicorns.
- The prospectus for RVII describes the investment as speculative and warns of substantial risk of loss, stating that shareholders will not have redemption rights before liquidation.
Robinhood Ventures Fund II (RVII) is set to raise $200 million to invest in seed-stage startups associated with Y Combinator. The fund will offer 7.6 million shares at $25 each, with an additional 400,000 shares sold by Robinhood itself.123568
The fund is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RVII on August 13, pending regulatory approval.
Unlike its predecessor, which focused on later-stage companies like Databricks and OpenAI, RVII will target much earlier investments, launching with stakes in about 80 private companies.
Sarah Pinto, head of Robinhood Ventures, stated, “The next generation of promising startups is being built today. With Robinhood Ventures Fund II, retail investors no longer have to wait until a company’s IPO to be part of an early growth journey.”
The fund will charge a 2% annual management fee and a 20% incentive fee on realized gains, a shift from the first fund's absence of performance fees.
Rich Aberman, portfolio manager for RVII, emphasized the goal of making retail investors a regular presence on seed and Series A capitalization tables.
Y Combinator has backed over 5,000 startups since 2005, with a combined valuation exceeding $1.3 trillion and over 100 unicorns produced.
The fund's prospectus warns of substantial risks, stating that shareholders will not have redemption rights before liquidation.9
Goldman Sachs is the lead bookrunner for the offering, with Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS, and Wells Fargo as joint bookrunners.4
“RVII plans to hold initial stakes in about 80 private companies and charge a 2% annual management fee plus a 20% incentive fee, with estimated annual expenses of 4.18%. It follows Robinhood Ventures Fund I, which raised $658.4 million in March and dropped 16% on its first trading day before recovering about 30%.”
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