On April 17, 2026, Robinhood Ventures Fund I announced a significant investment of approximately $75 million in OpenAI, marking one of its largest investments to date. This closed-end fund, which began trading on the NYSE under ticker RVI in March 2026, aims to democratize access to private markets for everyday investors, an area traditionally limited by accreditation and investment minimums. The investment in OpenAI reflects RVI’s commitment to providing retail investors with exposure to transformative companies, particularly as the number of publicly traded companies in the US has significantly declined from about 7,000 in 2000 to roughly 4,000 now, while private companies continue to grow in both number and value.

OpenAI: OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits humanity. It develops advanced AI models and technologies at the frontier of the field. The company was recently selected for a significant investment by Robinhood Ventures Fund I, underscoring its role as a transformative private firm.
Sarah Pinto: Sarah Pinto serves as President of Robinhood Ventures Fund I. She leads efforts to expand retail access to private markets through the fund’s investments. In response to the OpenAI investment announcement, she emphasized the company’s status as a leading AI innovator aligning with the fund’s mission.
Robinhood Ventures Fund I: Robinhood Ventures Fund I is a closed-end fund trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RVI, managed by Robinhood Ventures as its first such offering to retail investors. It holds a concentrated portfolio of private companies including Airwallex, Databricks, ElevenLabs, Ramp, Revolut, and Stripe, designed for accessibility with no accreditation or minimum investment requirements. The fund recently announced an investment in OpenAI as one of its major holdings to provide everyday investors exposure to frontier technologies.

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“Private Markets Shift”: “Companies are staying private longer, with growth in their number and value compared to public firms.”,
“Public Listings Trend”: “The number of publicly traded companies in the US has declined substantially since the year 2000.”,
“Retail Access Innovation”: “RVI offers a publicly traded structure for private company exposure without traditional barriers like accreditation.”
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