Robinhood has launched a new fund for individual investors, and it's a pretty interesting move. Last month, Robinhood Ventures Fund I(RVI) started trading and has been building its portfolio by acquiring significant stakes in Stripe and Eleven Labs.

In terms of scale, it invested about $14.6 million in Stripe and $20 million in AI voice company Eleven Labs. This fund has been available for buying and selling on the New York Stock Exchange since March 6. Until now, investments in private companies were mainly the domain of wealthy individuals and institutional investors, but now individual investors can access them too.

What’s intriguing is Robinhood’s fund strategy. Unlike traditional venture funds, it doesn’t require accredited investor status, nor does it charge performance fees. This significantly lowers the entry barrier, and the background is that while the number of publicly listed companies in the U.S. has decreased over the past 20 years, the private market has grown to about $10 trillion. As CEO Vlad Tenev mentioned earlier, wealthy individuals and institutions have long been investing in private companies, but individuals had been excluded.

Looking at the portfolio, Stripe is a payment and financial software company, and Eleven Labs is a London-based AI voice startup. Besides these two, the portfolio already includes private companies like Databricks, Revolut, Ramp, and Oura. This investment is likely to increase exposure to private companies in fintech and AI sectors.

Ultimately, Robinhood aims to give individual investors access to growth companies that were previously off-limits. It’s a strategy to let retail investors benefit from the expanding private market amid a shrinking public market. For investors, it’s a new opportunity, and the fund structure seems reasonably designed. On Tuesday, HOOD stock rose 2% to $76.78, while RVI saw a slight decline. It will be interesting to see which companies this fund adds next, especially with a continued focus on fintech and AI sectors.