Robinhood Venture Fund Makes $75 Million OpenAI Investment in Significant Private Market Move

TLDR

• Robinhood Ventures Fund I has acquired approximately $75 million worth of OpenAI common stock.
• This acquisition was finalized on April 17, and now counts as one of RVI’s largest holdings.
• RVI is listed on the NYSE, and enables retail investors to gain exposure to privately held firms.
• OpenAI wrapped up a 2026 funding round that put the company’s total valuation at $852 billion.
• Other assets in RVI’s portfolio include Stripe, Databricks, Revolut, Ramp, and ElevenLabs.

(SeaPRwire) –   Robinhood’s venture fund has purchased roughly $75 million in OpenAI stock. The transaction ranks among the fund’s biggest investments made to date. It also adds one of the most well-known AI companies to a portfolio designed specifically for retail investors.

The acquisition was completed on April 17. Robinhood Ventures Fund I, or RVI, stated that this holding expands access to private companies for everyday investors. The fund trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RVI.

Robinhood adds OpenAI to its expanding private company portfolio

Robinhood Ventures Fund I announced the purchase on Wednesday. The fund acquired common stock in OpenAI valued at around $75 million. The firm noted that OpenAI now counts as one of the fund’s largest positions.

RVI is Robinhood’s first publicly traded closed-end venture fund. It was created to provide access to private firms without requiring investor accreditation. The company also confirmed that the fund has no minimum investment requirements and charges no performance fees.

$HOOD says Robinhood Venture Fund has closed an investment in OpenAI worth roughly $75M. pic.twitter.com/QXEe5KHes2

— Polymarket Money (@PolymarketMoney) April 22, 2026

OpenAI now joins multiple other private companies in the fund’s holdings. The full list includes Airwallex, Boom, Databricks, ElevenLabs, Mercor, Oura, Ramp, Revolut, and Stripe. The OpenAI position further strengthens the fund’s existing focus on the artificial intelligence sector.

Sarah Pinto, president of Robinhood Ventures Fund I, commented on the purchase. She said, “OpenAI is one of the frontier artificial intelligence companies.” She also noted that the acquisition aligns with the fund’s core goal of giving investors access to companies that are shaping future markets.

Deal follows prior tensions over tokenized OpenAI shares

The purchase comes after past friction between Robinhood and OpenAI. Last summer, Robinhood rolled out tokenized shares tied to OpenAI and SpaceX for its European users. Per CNBC reports, that move drew public criticism from OpenAI and Sam Altman.

OpenAI argued at the time that those tokens did not grant actual equity ownership, a point that became the core of the disagreement. The new purchase is distinct because RVI has acquired actual common stock in OpenAI.

That difference is significant for investors tracking private market products. Tokenized exposure is not equivalent to direct ownership, and in this case, Robinhood has confirmed that the fund now holds genuine OpenAI stock.

The move may also help Robinhood address doubts that arose from the earlier dispute. A direct stock purchase creates a clearer, more direct link between the fund and OpenAI, and also houses the investment within a regulated public fund structure.

Private market access remains a core pillar of Robinhood’s strategy

RVI launched trading on the NYSE on March 6, 2026. Robinhood Ventures manages the fund through its entity Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC. Robinhood Markets owns that advisory firm as a fully owned subsidiary.

Robinhood stated that the fund reflects a broader shift taking place in U.S. capital markets. The total number of public companies dropped from roughly 7,000 in 2000 to around 4,000 in 2025. Over the same period, an increasing number of large firms have opted to stay private for longer periods.

The company also noted that private firms with more than $100 million in trailing 12-month revenue outnumber public companies by a ratio of more than six to one. It added that the combined valuation of U.S. private firms surpassed $10 trillion in the first quarter of 2025. These figures support Robinhood’s ongoing push to expand private market access for ordinary investors.

OpenAI’s size also provides added context for the purchase. The company closed a funding round earlier in 2026, which took its post-money valuation to $852 billion, per the original source material.