The brokerage firm Robinhood is set to introduce a closed-end fund, allowing retail investors access to its venture capital portfolio — a domain typically reserved for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
The brokerage revealed on Monday that it has submitted a Form N-2 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for registering shares of the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), to be managed by its new subsidiary, Robinhood Ventures DE.
If granted approval, RVI shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, facilitating the buying and selling process through participating brokerage platforms.
Robinhood stated that the fund will invest in companies “at the forefront of their respective industries,” though specific sectors were not identified. Typically, venture funds focus on high-growth areas such as emerging technologies, blockchain, and Web3.
This move would signify a notable change in access to investments. Historically, participation in early-stage, private enterprises has predominantly been the domain of venture capital firms and affluent investors.
Robinhood’s venture strategy may extend into digital assets, an area where the company is aggressively expanding. It currently offers cryptocurrency trading, has recently acquired the major exchange Bitstamp, and purchased Canadian crypto company WonderFi for $179 million.
The brokerage has also ventured into tokenization, providing tokenized stocks and experimenting with “private stock tokens” — a product that has attracted scrutiny from some industry analysts.
Related: Robinhood’s 24/7 tokenization initiative poses a challenge to NYSE revenues: Galaxy Digital
Crypto venture capital is increasing
Venture capital funding has experienced a resurgence in 2025, driven primarily by a boom in US startups focused on artificial intelligence. Global VC investment reached $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 constitutes a small segment of the overall VC landscape, the sector attracted $10 billion in the second quarter alone — marking its strongest performance since 2022, according to CryptoRank data. Companies raised over $10 billion in Q2, with June accounting for more than half of that total.
Major themes propelling crypto investment include tokenization, stablecoin infrastructure, and decentralized finance. Under US securities law, many of these early-stage private offerings remain restricted to accredited investors, limiting retail involvement.
If approved, Robinhood’s proposed venture fund could provide retail investors with an indirect means of gaining exposure to an asset class from which they have mostly been excluded.
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