Robinhood YC startup fund targets $200 million in proposed NYSE offering
Robinhood’s proposed RVII fund would back YC-linked startups through a public vehicle, with 4.18% expected annual expenses and a gains incentive fee.
By Ingrid Halvorsen · Venture Capital Reporter
· 3 min read
Robinhood has opened share requests for its proposed Robinhood YC startup fund, a business development company called Robinhood Ventures Fund II that aims to raise about $200 million. The fund is expected to offer shares at $25 and list on the New York Stock Exchange as RVII on August 13, subject to its registration statement becoming effective.
The distinction matters: Robinhood has announced a proposed IPO, rather than completed a fundraise or begun trading. Its August 3 SEC filing was a pre-effective amendment to its registration statement, and says the offering would start as soon as practicable after effectiveness.
Robinhood said the offering comprises 7.6 million shares sold by the fund and 400,000 shares sold by Robinhood Markets, for 8 million shares in total. At the expected price, that amounts to $200 million. Goldman Sachs is lead bookrunner, with Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, UBS and Wells Fargo listed as joint bookrunners. Robinhood said the request window was expected to close August 12.
What will Robinhood Ventures Fund II invest in?
RVII is a closed-end business development company, not a direct purchase of shares in individual Y Combinator startups. Robinhood says the vehicle had positions in 80 private companies at announcement and intends to make seed investments primarily in companies that are current or former Y Combinator participants, or whose founders or co-founders took part in the accelerator. The mandate also permits investments in other private companies.
The structure puts a public-market wrapper around the kind of early-company exposure usually handled through venture capital funds. Robinhood says investors will not face accreditation, account-minimum, income or net-worth requirements. But as a closed-end fund, RVII will not redeem shares at an investor’s request. Holders would need to sell in the market, if one develops, and shares may trade above or below the fund’s net asset value.
Robinhood’s emphasis on the YC network should not be read as an endorsement by the accelerator. The company says YC’s historical record is not predictive of RVII returns. Robinhood cites YC as having funded more than 5,000 companies since 2005, with aggregate value above $1.3 trillion, but attributes those figures to YC.
Fees and risks are central to the offer
Robinhood discloses a 2% annual management fee on net assets and expected total annual expenses of 4.18%. It also charges an annual incentive fee equal to 20% of realized capital gains, net of realized capital losses, unrealized depreciation on current investments and previously paid incentive fees, according to the company’s offering materials.
Robinhood characterizes the investment as speculative and warns of a substantial risk of loss. Its disclosures flag limited information about private companies, illiquidity, uncertain valuations, potential share-price volatility and the possibility that a portfolio company may never reach a liquidity event. The adviser, Robinhood Ventures DE, was formed in August 2025 and has limited investing history, according to Robinhood.
Fund II shifts further down the maturity curve than Robinhood Ventures Fund I, which Robinhood says primarily targets later-stage private companies. The new vehicle’s early- and growth-stage focus makes the fee and liquidity terms as consequential as the promise of retail access.
This story draws on original reporting from TechFundingNews.
