Robinhood, the US-based share trading platform that counts internet technology group Alphabet and entertainment agency Roc Nation as investors, added $320m to a series F round yesterday, increasing it to $600m.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital led the round at an $8.3bn valuation, participating alongside investors including New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Ribbit Capital, 9Yards Capital, Unusual Ventures, TSG Consumer Partners and IVP.
Founded in 2013, Robinhood operates a trading app that enables users to buy and sell shares without paying commission. Its user numbers have grown significantly during the coronavirus lockdown and it said yesterday it has added 3 million new funded accounts in 2020 to take its registered users to 13 million.
The company’s overall funding now stands at almost $1.5bn. It said in a blog post announcing the round: “As more people choose Robinhood, we remain focused on continuously improving the experience we provide.
“With this funding, we will continue to invest in scaling our platform, building new products, and accelerating build-out of our operations. That means hiring more top talent across all of our offices, including our newest office in Denver.”
RobinHood closed the round’s $280m first tranche in May this year. It completed a $373m series E round led by DST Global in October 2019 at a $7.6bn valuation with contributions from Ribbit Capital, NEA, Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital.
The company was valued at $5.6bn in a $363m series D round in mid-2018 that was led by DST Global and backed by Alphabet’s CapitalG subsidiary, Sequoia Capital, Iconiq Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and existing investors including NEA and Thrive Capital.
Roc Nation, which had invested an undisclosed sum in RobinHood three months earlier, was likely also part of the series D. Greenoaks Capital, Index Ventures, Rothenberg Ventures, Queensbridge Venture Partners, Social Leverage and Vaizra Investments were among its earlier backers.
