Robinhood is preparing to launch a publicly traded fund that will allow retail investors to gain exposure to startups backed by Y Combinator, one of Silicon Valley’s best-known startup accelerators.
Fund Targets Y Combinator Companies
Robinhood Venture Fund II (RVII) is expected to begin trading on August 13 at an opening price of $25 per share. According to Reuters, the fund aims to raise up to $200 million, which will be used to acquire shares in startups founded by current and former Y Combinator participants, provided those companies agree to sell their equity.
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Although anyone will be able to buy shares in the fund, investors will not own stakes in the startups directly. Instead, they will hold shares in the fund itself, which can be traded publicly, while returns will depend on the fund’s overall performance.
Fee Structure Mirrors Venture Capital
RVII will follow the traditional venture capital fee model, paying a management fee and carried interest to another Robinhood-owned entity.
The company said the management fee and other charges will total just over 4% of net returns, while the Robinhood unit will also receive 20% carried interest if the fund generates profits through successful startup exits.
Unlike most venture capital funds, which typically distribute profits and wind down after about 10 years, RVII does not appear to have a fixed end date or a commitment to regular cash distributions. Instead, investors may primarily benefit through increases in the fund’s share price.
Previous Fund Shows Both Upside And Risk
Robinhood Venture Fund I, which invests in private companies including Databricks, Mercor and OpenAI, has generally traded above its IPO price of $21. However, its performance has also highlighted the risks. After climbing above $56 per share in May, the fund has since fallen to around $28.
Robinhood has previously faced criticism over investment products linked to private companies. In 2025, it launched crypto tokens described as tokenised shares of OpenAI and SpaceX, prompting OpenAI to state that it was not involved and that the tokens did not represent ownership in the company.
Unlike those products, RVII will purchase actual shares in private companies, making it more comparable to a special purpose investment vehicle than to the tokenised assets launched in 2025.
