TLDRRobinhood raised $225.5 million for RVII, its second venture fund aimed at retail investors.The fund targets early-stage startups, including companies linked to Y Combinator’s network.RVII trades on the NYSE, giving everyday investors access to private-market deals.The fund’s mandate covers tech and crypto-related startups, though no fixed crypto allocation was disclosed.Robinhood also expanded crypto trading in the UK through a partnership with Bitstamp UK.Robinhood has raised $225.5 million for its second venture fund. The fund will invest in early-stage private companies, some of which work in crypto. Its public listing gives everyday investors a way into deals usually reserved for large backers.Robinhood Ventures Fund II, known as RVII, started trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Reuters, the offering sold 8 million shares at $25 each. That brought total launch proceeds to $225.5 million.Who Can Access Private Startups Through RVIIRobinhood said RVII will invest in both early and growth-stage businesses. The fund will focus on companies tied to Y Combinator, a well known startup accelerator. That network includes Coinbase, Reddit, and OpenAI.The fund’s mandate covers technology companies and possible crypto investments. Coinbase is one example of a Y Combinator company in the digital asset space. Robinhood has not shared a fixed allocation for crypto-related startups.RVII is set up as a business development company, or BDC. This structure places private-market investments inside a fund that trades publicly. Investors can buy shares on the stock exchange instead of trying to find direct startup stakes.This approach fits a market where startups stay private longer. Many reach billion-dollar valuations before ever going public. Robinhood wants to give individual investors a piece of that growth earlier on.Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) has invested $30 million in @Whatnot as part of the company’s $545 million Series G round.Learn more: https://t.co/PSb52ng89X— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) August 7, 2026How RVII Expands Access To StartupsRVII follows Robinhood Ventures Fund I, which launched in March. That fund focuses on later-stage startups. RVII, by contrast, enters at earlier points in the funding cycle and already holds private company positions.RVII’s portfolio manager, Rich Aberman, called the fund the venture industry’s frontier. He said everyday Americans have never had a real way to share in the money made by Silicon Valley startups. Aberman said RVII was built to change that.The earlier fund, RVI, recently invested about $30 million in preferred stock issued by Whatnot. That investment was part of a $545 million Series G funding round. It gave RVI shareholders exposure to a company that has not yet gone public.Robinhood first became known in 2021 for commission-free stock trading aimed at individual customers. Since then, the company has built out a broader business that includes private markets and crypto trading.Robinhood recently added crypto trading in the UK for eligible customers. The service works through a partnership with Bitstamp UK. More than 50 digital assets are available through the platform.The assets include Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP. This UK rollout is separate from RVII’s private startup strategy. Together, the moves show Robinhood pushing further beyond its original stock trading business.The post Robinhood Raises $225.5 Million For New Venture Fund appeared first on Blockonomi.