Robinhood invested in a small stake in OpenAI worth $75 million, widening a channel for retail investors to gain indirect access to unlisted artificial intelligence (AI) companies.

On April 22 local time, blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan reported that Robinhood pursued the deal so retail investors who cannot invest directly in OpenAI can access it indirectly through a listed venture fund.

The stake purchase was made through Robinhood Ventures Fund I. The fund began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYS) in March. Robinhood said this gives it a listed investment vehicle linked to unlisted high-growth companies.

Sarah Pinto (사라 핀토), head of Robinhood Ventures Fund I, said in a statement that OpenAI is one of the AI companies at the forefront and that she is very proud to include it in the fund.

Robinhood cited the growing share of unlisted companies in the U.S. market as the rationale for the purchase. The company said the number of private companies now exceeds that of listed firms by more than 6.5 times, and their estimated value in the United States tops $10 trillion as of the first quarter of 2025. It also said the number of listed U.S. companies fell to about 4,000 in 2025 from around 7,000 in 2000. By contrast, companies are staying private for longer and expanding in both number and value, it added.

The decision also intersects with a controversy over stock tokens that emerged in Europe last summer. At the time, Robinhood offered European users tokenised shares linked to OpenAI and SpaceX, but Sam Altman (샘 알트먼) pushed back, saying the tokens did not represent actual equity in the company. Since then, Robinhood appears to have shifted from a direct token structure to a listed investment vehicle backed by equity held by an actual fund.

In the market, retail demand for AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI continues to grow. That is because a structure has taken hold in which high-growth technology companies delay initial public offerings, continue large-scale private fundraising and grow while maintaining management control. The longer the period of value gains before a company reaches the public market, the wider the access gap for retail investors is bound to become.

Robinhood shares rose about 9.3 percent over the past 7 days and 21.9 percent over the past 30 days to around $86 a share. They are down 25.0 percent since the start of the year but up 105.3 percent over the past year. In premarket trading in the United States the same day, crypto-related stocks also gained on the back of a rise in Bitcoin (BTC). Strategy rose 2.2 percent, Robinhood added 1.6 percent and Coinbase gained 1.8 percent.