Robinhood targets ~$200M for second fund backing Y Combinator startups

What's the deal? Robinhood has kicked off formal marketing of Robinhood Ventures Fund II, a second publicly traded closed-end fund targeting around $200 million to invest in private companies that have gone through Y Combinator's accelerator programs.

The structure. The fund is offering 7.6 million shares at $25 each in an IPO, with Robinhood affiliates offering a further ~400,000 shares. The offering is expected to price after the close on August 12 and the shares are set to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RVII. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS and Wells Fargo are working on the deal.

What it invests in. Fund II plans to build a diversified portfolio of early- and growth-stage private companies, focusing on current or former Y Combinator participants — the program takes in roughly 500 to 700 startups a year and counts Airbnb, Stripe and Instacart among its alumni. It may also back companies outside the program.

Why it matters. It follows Robinhood Ventures Fund I, which went public in March at $25 a share and raised $315.4 million, holding stakes in large private tech names including Databricks, Stripe and Canva. Together the vehicles push Robinhood deeper into opening private-market investing — long the preserve of institutions and the wealthy — to retail investors.

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