Robinhood lets everyday Americans buy into OpenAI — but as Bank of America warns, private markets don't have the same 'ground rules' to protect them

Sarah Pinto, President of Robinhood Ventures Fund I, said in the press release that this $75 million investment is the largest to date for RVI, adding that it "underscores our core mission to provide everyday investors with access to what we believe are transformative companies shaping the future."

This, however, isn't the first time Robinhood tried to make OpenAI more accessible to non-accredited traders. Controversially, this brokerage began experimenting with virtual tokens representing OpenAI shares in 2025, according to Business Insider (3). Once OpenAI caught wind of this unofficial offering, it quickly responded on X.

"We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it," OpenAI wrote in its post on X (4). "Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer. Please be careful."

Goldin Solutions, a public relations agency working with Robinhood, pointed out in an email to Moneywise that these tokens were “part of a limited giveaway in the EU, and are not available to buy or sell.”

With this $75 million stock deal, Robinhood appears to be moving toward a more traditional route, serving as an intermediary between retail and the private market.

The tradeoff is that retail traders still won't get undiluted access to OpenAI. RVI is a closed-end fund that includes many other startups, such as Mercor, Oura and Stripe. Although OpenAI is now RVI's largest holding, the price per share won't exactly mimic OpenAI's value on the private market.

The public-private market access gap

Products like Robinhood's RVI provide a way into the private market, but statistics suggest it's getting harder for retail investors to snatch up hot startups.

Data from World Bank Group shows that the number of U.S.-listed domestic companies has been steadily declining from over 8,000 in 1996 to under 4,000 in 2025 (5).

Research from the investment firm HarbourVest estimates that the private and VC-backed markets have 25 times more companies than the public market, which means retail investors have fewer opportunities to put their money into thousands of potential mega-growth engines (6).​

Plus, as companies stay private for longer, they might reach valuations in the billions or even trillions behind closed doors.

As stories of billion-plus funding rounds break, it's no wonder retail investors feel unfairly blocked out of today's greatest opportunities, including OpenAI (7). But some financial experts point out that the private market has its perils.

Just how profitable is the private market?

In an interview with the New York Times (8), Bank of America's global strategist Haim Israel admitted that, "A lot of the innovation is actually being focused in the private market, and not the public market, and investors in the retail market are missing out." But Israel warned that you don’t have the same kind of "ground rules" to protect retail investors in this space.

Although it can feel restrictive, the public market has a well-defined rulebook with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that provides high transparency. The private market, however, is another beast. Companies can be more choosy about what they disclose, which makes it harder to know exactly what you're investing in.

In its email to Moneywise, Goldin Solutions argued that investors still have numerous protections.

“Retail investors in RVI are protected by the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933. These laws impose stringent investor protections, including anti-fraud provisions, mandatory independent board oversight, strict limits on affiliated transactions, leverage caps, regular and extensive disclosure obligations and rigorous requirements governing valuation,” Goldin writes.

“In addition, Robinhood Ventures, RVI’s manager, must manage RVI in compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Among other matters, this law imposes a federal fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of RVI ... This is the same legal regime that governs mutual funds and ETFs.”

The differences aren’t just about safety. Practically speaking, it can also be harder to trade shares with imprecise pricing and lower liquidity. Even though the private market holds about $10 trillion in value, that's peanuts compared to the public market's roughly $87 trillion, according to HarbourVest (9).