Tokenization, Agentic Trading, Harmonic: Robinhood's Mission to Expand Ownership with CEO Vlad Tenev

“Prediction markets are an evolution of news. You just can see what's happening and what's likely to happen in the future through the odds.”

Claim: Prediction markets provide information about current events and the likelihood of future events through market odds, and are an evolution of news.

“It's too centralized, right? It's like AI companies with their big data centers, and their employees using secret models to sort of do all this work.”

Claim: AI development and work are too centralized because AI companies rely on large data centers and employees using secret models.

“So agentic trading, clearly product market fit. We're seeing really strong adoption, like over a hundred and fifty thousand customers have opened agentic trading accounts with us.”

Claim: Robinhood's agentic trading product has clear product-market fit and strong adoption, with more than 150,000 customers having opened agentic trading accounts.

“We do a lot of things. Uh, we're live in some form or another in over a hundred and twenty countries. And if I had to sum up Robinhood in one word or one idea, it would be ownership.”

Claim: Robinhood operates in some form in more than 120 countries.

“We do a lot of things. Uh, we're live in some form or another in over a hundred and twenty countries. And if I had to sum up Robinhood in one word or one idea, it would be ownership.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev describes ownership as the central idea that summarizes Robinhood.

“I think we're the ownership company, the company is that, that's most associated with that. And when I say that, um, so w-why does ownership matter?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes Robinhood is the company most strongly associated with ownership.

“Um, I think on an individual basis, people want to own things. It's the tried-and-true route to financial freedom, financial independence.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes people want to own assets and that ownership is a proven route to financial freedom and independence.

“You know, if, if you're, if you're an asset owner, um, and you accumulate assets over time, it's just the, the, the best way to build your wealth.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes that owning and accumulating assets over time is the best way to build wealth.

“And also, you know, the things you own say a lot about your personality. It's almost like it, it becomes like a part of your identity.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes a person's possessions can express their personality and become part of their identity.

“Like, if it's a car collection, or your collect-collectibles, your, your cards, your stock portfolio, I think there's a lot of individuality into it.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that possessions such as car collections, collectibles, cards, and stock portfolios can express individuality.

“So I think there's an individual benefit, but I think there's also a, a collective benefit i-in, i-in the sense that, uh, a society without broad ownership is inherently very unstable.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes a society without widespread ownership is inherently unstable.

“It's a fragile society. And if, if you have more people that own things, they're more bought in, they have more, more stake in the outcome, and they become kind of defenders and protectors of the system.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes broad ownership gives people a greater stake in societal outcomes and makes them more likely to defend and protect the system.

“And so I think especially now when people are kind of pushing back against society, and it, it feels a little bit fraught with AI and, and all of this disruption, I think giving people the ability to own companies at earlier stages is, uh, is increasingly important.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes that amid current social pushback and disruption associated with AI, it is increasingly important to let people own companies at earlier stages.

“So it's really what ties together all of our things from, uh, Trump accounts, which is ownership at age zero, Robinhood ventures, ownership of private companies before they go public.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says ownership unifies Robinhood's offerings, including Trump accounts for ownership from birth and Robinhood Ventures for investing in private companies before they go public.

“Tokenization, you can think of as ownership gone global. Like, how can we make all the people outside the US, people in a hundred and twenty-plus countries that don't sometimes even have functional banking systems, how can we kind of plug them into this economic fabric of society?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood's global tokenization effort aims to connect people outside the United States, including those in more than 120 countries who may lack functional banking systems, to the broader economy.

“Tokenization, you can think of as ownership gone global. Like, how can we make all the people outside the US, people in a hundred and twenty-plus countries that don't sometimes even have functional banking systems, how can we kind of plug them into this economic fabric of society?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev characterizes tokenization as a way to extend ownership globally.

“Um, so yeah, that, that's how I think about it. We started off as just, um, a simple app to buy stocks at zero commissions on your phone, and then we've kind of expanded from that into a increasingly global financial conglomerate that a-allows customers to own things across a wide variety of surfaces and asset classes.”

Claim: Robinhood evolved from a zero-commission stock-trading phone app into a global financial conglomerate offering customers ownership across a wide range of products and asset classes.

“Yeah. So I mean, rewinding back even, even further, I was born in Eastern Europe in the late eighties, kind of on the brink of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the lifting of the Iron Curtain.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he was born in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, around the time of the Soviet Union's collapse and the lifting of the Iron Curtain.

“And, uh, actually in the nineteen nineties, so I immigrated to the US after my, my parents. My dad had an opportunity to come study at the University of Delaware for his master's, and then, um, was also was able to take advantage of that and, and stay in America full-time.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his family immigrated to the United States in the 1990s after his father came to study for a master's degree at the University of Delaware and remained in the country.

“And so my mom came about a year after, and I came about six months, um, after her, which was a, a pretty unique experience.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his mother immigrated about a year after his father, and he followed about six months later.

“I mean, you talk to a lot of parents, um... I didn't see my dad for a year and a half and my mom for six months when I was a small child.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that as a small child he was separated from his father for a year and a half and from his mother for six months.

“I lived with my grandparents and- A large portion of that was we just didn't have the money to send the whole family. So we, we had to, you know, we weren't sure that my dad would have a long-term future in this country.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he lived with his grandparents during the family's immigration, partly because they could not afford to move everyone at once and were uncertain whether his father could remain in the United States long term.

“So we thought maybe he'd come back after a year or two years. Uh, and anyway, he did quite well and was able to send for my mom and, and then me.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his family initially thought his father might return after one or two years, but his father did well enough to bring his mother and him to the United States.

“And my last year in Bulgaria, 1991, the inflation rate was something like 170% in Bulgaria.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev recalls that Bulgaria's inflation rate was approximately 170% in 1991, his last year there.

“So my early memories were the rolling blackouts and, you know, my, my family huddled around the radio, which was battery operated, just listening to what was going on.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev recalls rolling blackouts in his early life in Bulgaria and his family gathering around a battery-operated radio for news.

“The lines at the bodega, which I could see from my window for buying milk and eggs. The milk would come in these big plastic bags.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev recalls queues for milk and eggs near his home in Bulgaria, where milk came in large plastic bags.

“Um, and you know, the one week a year you would get bananas from other communist countries. So Cuba would... The Cuban bananas I remember were just amazing.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev recalls that bananas from other communist countries were available in Bulgaria for about one week each year.

“And then I would, I would come to the US and there were just bananas everywhere, right? But they weren't as good. Um, and so, yeah. And, and even after I moved, in 1997, Bulgaria had the unfortunate distinction of having the number one inflation rate in the world. It was something like 2000% annualized. So they were just adding zeros to the currency every couple of months. And so from that point, I just developed kind of a understanding of money.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that after he moved to the United States in 1997, Bulgaria had the world's highest inflation rate, at approximately 2,000% annualized.

“And my grandparents actually would keep their assets in copper cookware. So there was this closet in my grandfather's house where, you know, he, he worked as a doctor kind of in the, um, in the shipbuilding and, and naval industries, so he was on a boat a lot of the times. So he had his contacts at the port, and as soon as he would get salary, he would exchange it for copper cook- cookware. So it was kind of the first real world asset that I, I encountered people investing in.”

Claim: During Bulgaria's inflation crisis, Vlad Tenev's grandparents used his grandfather's salary to buy copper cookware as a way to preserve value.

“So he had his contacts at the port, and as soon as he would get salary, he would exchange it for copper cook- cookware. So it was kind of the first real world asset that I, I encountered people investing in.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that his grandparents' copper cookware was the first real-world asset he saw people invest in.

“Pots and pans. Much better than the local currency at the time. And so, uh, yeah, I just, I grew up with that. I grew up understanding, you know, what happens in a broken system, uh, where you don't have, you know, free markets and good, healthy capital markets.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says growing up in Bulgaria gave him an understanding of the consequences of a broken system without free markets and healthy capital markets.

“And I'd say for me, um, I pretty quickly discovered that, uh, academically, I, I was quite strong, um, and also independent, basically by choice.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he was academically strong and independent from an early age.

“You know, my parents couldn't really affor- afford babysitters or after school activities or any of that stuff. They were, they were both working multiple jobs, and my dad was a full-time graduate student.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his parents could not afford babysitters or after-school activities while both worked multiple jobs and his father studied full time in graduate school.

“So it was kind of like, you know, when I was in kindergarten, five years old, they would... I would walk back from school by myself. Uh, they would tell me, "Okay, go to the neighbor's house." We lived in apartment buildings at the University of Maryland. "Knock on, knock on the door. Your neighbor will watch you for, you know, a couple of hours."”

Claim: At age five, Vlad Tenev walked home from school alone and was expected to go to a neighbor's home for supervision.

“Then they realized, all right, our, our son's going through this, like, complicated ritual to get home. We might as well just give him the key and- ... you know, pretty soon after that, I would let myself in, do my homework, go outside, play with my friends. So I was, I was very independent. And, uh, there was always this, like, pressure of having to succeed and do well in school, probably for a couple reasons.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his parents eventually gave him a key so he could let himself into their home, do homework, and go play with friends.

“... you know, pretty soon after that, I would let myself in, do my homework, go outside, play with my friends. So I was, I was very independent. And, uh, there was always this, like, pressure of having to succeed and do well in school, probably for a couple reasons. One, I was good at it, and so everyone just, everyone around me was like, "Do more school. Skip grades. Like, do better in math. More math," you know?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he felt pressure to succeed academically because he was good at school and people around him encouraged him to take on more and harder schoolwork.

“And, you know, the teachers would have these meetings with my parents like, "Hey, your, your son, you know, do you know he's, he's really good at math? You should, you know, put him in this thing."”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his teachers told his parents he was especially good at math and encouraged them to put him in a suitable program.

“So I think that was one of the benefits of growing up around the University of Maryland, which is a very academically oriented community, and they would try to sort of like identify the kids that had potential and accelerate them.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says the academically oriented community around the University of Maryland sought to identify children with potential and accelerate their education.

“Um, the other thing was my parents would just sit me down and say, "Look, the financial status of this family is very insecure. We're not making any money, so you're gonna have to basically get a scholarship if you wanna go to college, and y- to get a scholarship, you are gonna have to do very, very well in school.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his parents told him their family's finances were insecure and he would need a scholarship to go to college.

“And also, by the way, um, we might get... We're, we're, like, visa holders here." "So, you know, if we lose our jobs, we're gonna have to get sent back to Bulgaria." So there was all this pressure to succeed academically. And, um, you know, and, and for me, you know, my math PhD program, at some point, it became kind of this challenge, like, what's the hardest thing?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his parents warned that, as visa holders in the United States, they would have to return to Bulgaria if they lost their jobs.

“"So, you know, if we lose our jobs, we're gonna have to get sent back to Bulgaria." So there was all this pressure to succeed academically. And, um, you know, and, and for me, you know, my math PhD program, at some point, it became kind of this challenge, like, what's the hardest thing? How can I do better at the hardest thing? And it, it was this almost, like, competition with myself, um, and, and with, with my, my parents, who were also very academically strong.”

Claim: During his math PhD program, Vlad Tenev says he challenged himself to identify and excel at the hardest available task, treating it as a competition with himself.

“... you know, "What, what was the most advanced math that you did?" And I think math has this, like, ladder of achievement. It's almost like playing a really good video game. Like, you always know what the next hardest thing is, and it's almost like how quickly can you go to algebraic geometry or algebraic topology, and can, can you, can you learn that earlier and kind of understand it?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says mathematics offers a ladder of achievement in which learners can identify the next hardest subject, likening the progression to a good video game.

“And I think what appealed to me when I got to grad school was this idea that if you are... if you create a m- a new mathematical theory, you know, may- maybe you'll be remembered for a really long time and, you know, just like kids in school, everyone learns, you know, Gauss and Riemann and all these greats. If you create a theory, maybe kids will be learning and Sort of like thinking about your work hundred, hundreds of years from now.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says creating a new mathematical theory might lead to the creator being remembered for a long time, with students potentially learning and thinking about the work hundreds of years later.

“I think, I think on the one hand it's very exciting and sort of, uh, predictable because the rise of AI models and the ability to verify the outputs put together has led to a kind of automation of the, of the math pipeline.”

Claim: The rise of AI models and the ability to verify their outputs together have enabled a kind of automation of the mathematics pipeline.

“I mean, the math is changing so quickly, and, you know, math as a field hasn't changed very rapidly at all in thousands of years.”

Claim: Mathematics as a field has changed very slowly over thousands of years.

“I mean, when I was in grad school, most of the work was still being done in person with like chalk and a chalkboard. It's like there was no collaboration.”

Claim: When the speaker was in graduate school, most mathematical work was done in person using chalk and chalkboards, and there was little collaboration.

“People weren't even using computers. So now, um, math has kind of converged with coding. Mathematicians are using the same tools. They're using version control.”

Claim: When the speaker was in graduate school, people were not even using computers for mathematics.

“People weren't even using computers. So now, um, math has kind of converged with coding. Mathematicians are using the same tools. They're using version control.”

Claim: Mathematics has converged with coding, and mathematicians now use coding tools such as version control.

“They're using like Lean for, for verification and, uh, and, and the field is acce- accelerating very rapidly. Um, about, about a year ago, so Harmonic, which is a, a startup that I co-founded a couple of years ago with the goal of building mathematical super intelligence.”

Claim: The field of mathematics is accelerating very rapidly.

“They're using like Lean for, for verification and, uh, and, and the field is acce- accelerating very rapidly. Um, about, about a year ago, so Harmonic, which is a, a startup that I co-founded a couple of years ago with the goal of building mathematical super intelligence.”

Claim: Mathematicians are using Lean to verify mathematical work.

“They're using like Lean for, for verification and, uh, and, and the field is acce- accelerating very rapidly. Um, about, about a year ago, so Harmonic, which is a, a startup that I co-founded a couple of years ago with the goal of building mathematical super intelligence.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev co-founded Harmonic a couple of years before the conversation, with the goal of building mathematical superintelligence.

“Um, so last year we created, uh, a model called Aristotle that was one of three that got a gold medal on the International Math Olympiad.”

Claim: Harmonic created Aristotle last year; it was one of three models to receive a gold medal on the International Math Olympiad.

“And then subsequently to that, we rolled it out to the public, and, uh, we had people using Aristotle to tackle unsolved math problems.”

Claim: After its creation, Harmonic released Aristotle to the public, where people used it to tackle unsolved mathematics problems.

“And so, uh, uh, it was used to like solve these Erdos problems. Uh, there was these other, there were these other mathematicians that were, uh, using it for new results and, and so forth.”

Claim: Users applied Aristotle to solve Erdős problems, and mathematicians used it in work producing new results.

“And so then I started thinking a lot about, okay, what's the future of math? Like what, how should these tools be used? And um, I think for, for me, it was very important for the tools that I build, not just Harmonic, but also Robinhood, to be empowering to individuals, to people.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes the tools he builds at Harmonic and Robinhood should empower individuals.

“And so the one thing I don't love about like this latest, uh, wave of, of AI models solving math problems is that it's too centralized, right?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev dislikes the centralization of the latest wave of AI models solving mathematics.

“It's like AI companies with their big data centers and their employees using secret models to sort of do all this work.”

Claim: In the latest wave of AI-driven mathematical work, AI companies use large data centers and employees using secret models.

“And, and I think what, what's more attractive and what would ultimately win out in the end as a model is rolling these things out and actually putting them in the hands of people and having, having the users make interesting discoveries and, and inventions.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks the more attractive model, and the one that would ultimately prevail, is to distribute AI tools to users so they can make discoveries and inventions.

“I mean, I have thoughts on both of them, but on, on the second one, it's much more interesting. I think that a world where you have the AI labs on a proprietary basis making all the discoveries and you have like the OpenAI or Anthropic data centers that are just running code, you know, managed by the employees of those companies and, you know, they're vertically integrating and, you know, producing all the drugs and selling the drugs to people, um, making all the mathematical and, and physical discoveries and publishing all the papers. If all of that is happening and it's owned by the AI labs themselves, I, I think that's a bit of like a dystopian outcome and unlikely to happen for, for a couple of reasons.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev considers it dystopian and unlikely that AI labs will privately control discoveries and vertically integrate into producing and selling drugs, making mathematical and physical discoveries, and publishing papers.

“Um, not, not just like technological and market, but I think also like if, if that happens to a significant- ... degree, people will-- They'll lose their license-”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that if AI labs control discoveries and production to a significant degree, people will lose their license to operate.

“Um, I think it's much more-- I think you could have the same outcome of, uh, Navier-Stokes being proven or, you know, the, uh, light, the partial Riemann hypothesis or any, any one of these things, and it'll be much more accepted if it was like a random layperson using- ... GPT-6.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks a result such as a proof of Navier–Stokes or the partial Riemann hypothesis would be more accepted if a random layperson produced it using GPT-6.

“I, I think for sure. Um, and I think that's how it's gonna happen. That's the likely scenario one year from now. I think you also have the, uh, the, the confounding factor of a lot of the people that are going into these AI labs are former researchers, and so they're like excited by doing research and, and I think they're confused as to why this is being poorly received.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says many people joining AI labs are former researchers excited to do research, and he thinks they are confused about why their work is poorly received.

“I, I think for sure. Um, and I think that's how it's gonna happen. That's the likely scenario one year from now. I think you also have the, uh, the, the confounding factor of a lot of the people that are going into these AI labs are former researchers, and so they're like excited by doing research and, and I think they're confused as to why this is being poorly received.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev predicts that a layperson using GPT-6 to produce a mathematical result is the likely scenario one year from the conversation.

“Um- But yeah, I, I think that-- Yeah, and I've said this to folks that work at the companies. I think it would've been much better if they found some mathematicians and kinda collaborated with them to not make it seem like, you know, there's this dark data center dystopian future where, you know, one company is gonna make all of the scientific discoveries.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks AI companies should have collaborated with mathematicians to avoid creating the impression that one company would make all scientific discoveries.

“Yeah. So tokenization is really, it's a, it's a new innovation, and the idea is almost similar to stablecoin.”

Claim: Tokenization is a new innovation whose basic idea is similar to stablecoins.

“So the way a stablecoin works is you take some dollars or treasuries, put them, put, put them in a wrapper, put them in a box, and then you mint and burn tokens against the box.”

Claim: A stablecoin can be created by placing dollars or treasuries in a reserve wrapper and minting or burning tokens against it.

“And the traditional assets stay custodied at a traditional institution like a, like a bank, and then the tokens can trade freely on DeFi.”

Claim: In the described tokenization model, traditional assets remain custodied at an institution such as a bank while the corresponding tokens trade freely on DeFi.

“So they can move anywhere around the world, uh, they can trade in fractional amounts, they can be swapped in different protocols or lending pools.”

Claim: Tokenized assets can move globally, trade fractionally, and be swapped across protocols or lending pools.

“Um, and that opens up just a, a ton of possibilities.”

Claim: Tokenization opens up many possibilities.

“Yeah. So you can kind of extend that concept to any real world asset. So we've, we've, uh, we've done it with stocks. So you can put stocks in a box and mint and burn tokens against them, and they can trade all over the internet on blockchains like software.”

Claim: Robinhood has tokenized stocks by minting and burning tokens against stocks, enabling those tokens to trade on blockchains.

“You can do it with private companies. You know, instead of a stock, it's like a SPV with private company shares. Um, behaves the same, with some slight differences around redeeming and, and things, things of that nature.”

Claim: Private-company shares can be tokenized through an SPV in a way similar to stocks, though redemption and related details differ somewhat.

“You could do it with art, collectibles, real estate. So, um, what we launched... And, and we've been playing around with tokenization and experimenting it, with it for many years.”

Claim: Robinhood has experimented with tokenization for many years and considers art, collectibles, and real estate potential tokenized assets.

“So last year we had an event in the South of France where we launched stock tokens, which are tokenized versions of US stocks, and we did it in Europe.”

Claim: Robinhood launched tokenized US stocks in Europe last year.

“But it wasn't fully DeFi-enabled. So if you're a European customer using Robinhood, you could trade them, and they felt very much like real stocks, but you couldn't actually, you know, send them out on Ethereum or on the blockchain and put them in pools or compose them with, with other smart contracts.”

Claim: Robinhood's earlier stock tokens were tradable by European customers but could not be transferred to Ethereum or other blockchains, pooled, or composed with other smart contracts.

“Now, this year, we took it one step further. We relaunched stock tokens with fully DeFi-enabled characteristics, and we launched it in conjunction with Robinhood Chain, which is our new blockchain built for real world assets.”

Claim: Robinhood relaunched fully DeFi-enabled stock tokens this year alongside Robinhood Chain, a blockchain built for real-world assets.

“And Robinhood Chain has become one of the fastest-growing, I think the fastest-growing across a lot of metrics, blockchains in history. And what we've seen is just an explosion of developer activity.”

Claim: Robinhood Chain has become one of history's fastest-growing blockchains across many metrics, with a sharp increase in developer activity.

“Uh, I think we announced recently it's the number one chain in developer activity too. Um, and you know, uh, uh, developers have taken stock tokens, which have become kind of like Legos, and have started building all sorts of interesting smart contracts, NFTs, pooled assets where you'll take, for example, a meme coin and link it with a stock token.”

Claim: Developers are using stock tokens as building blocks for smart contracts, NFTs, and pooled assets, including meme-coin and stock-token combinations.

“Uh, I think we announced recently it's the number one chain in developer activity too. Um, and you know, uh, uh, developers have taken stock tokens, which have become kind of like Legos, and have started building all sorts of interesting smart contracts, NFTs, pooled assets where you'll take, for example, a meme coin and link it with a stock token.”

Claim: Robinhood recently announced that Robinhood Chain ranks first in developer activity.

“And, you know, this is just sort of month one and month two type ac-activity. Um, yeah, I think these financial primitives as the foundation of a developer platform will become really, really big.”

Claim: Despite being only in its first and second months, the financial-primitives developer platform could become very large, in the speaker's view.

“And I think what's more exciting to me than this is, uh, Robinhood Chain is a way to enable the long tail of countries. So people in countries that don't have highly functioning capital markets or financial systems like, you know, places in South America or Africa.”

Claim: Robinhood Chain is intended to enable access to financial products for people in countries with less-developed capital markets and financial systems.

“Anyone with a smartphone and a non-custodial wallet can now get exposure to US markets at incredibly low cost. So in the same way that I think stablecoin became the default way for people in these countries to get access to dollars, stock tokens and products like that will be the default way to get access to US equities, um, for, for, for all of these people.”

Claim: People with a smartphone and non-custodial wallet can access US markets at very low cost through the described products.

“Anyone with a smartphone and a non-custodial wallet can now get exposure to US markets at incredibly low cost. So in the same way that I think stablecoin became the default way for people in these countries to get access to dollars, stock tokens and products like that will be the default way to get access to US equities, um, for, for, for all of these people.”

Claim: The speaker expects stock tokens and similar products to become the default means for people in countries with less-developed financial systems to access US equities, analogous to stablecoins for dollar access.

“Exactly. And private companies. And, and really the vision for Robinhood Chain and tokenization is, let's just take all the things that work on Robinhood and put them on chain and make them available to, um, people in all these countries.”

Claim: Robinhood's vision for Robinhood Chain and tokenization is to move Robinhood's successful offerings on-chain and make them available in countries with less-developed financial systems.

“And I think o-one thing I've learned is a lot of people... So, you know, we're, we're new to operating a blockchain, we're new to, uh, operating these, you know, on chain smart contract products.”

Claim: Robinhood is relatively new to operating a blockchain and on-chain smart-contract products.

“And a lot of the criticisms that, you know, Robinhood has received, like we've been called a corpo chain, right? Like, the best blockchains are... So, so they told me. They, they said the best blockchains are managed by these, like, organizations and consortiums, and everything's decentralized and, you know, you guys are a corporation managing a chain.”

Claim: Critics have called Robinhood Chain a 'corpo chain' because Robinhood, a corporation, manages it rather than a decentralized organization or consortium.

“How is that gonna be as good? Well, um, maybe you sacrifice a little bit of, like, organizational decentralization purity, but what you get is just focused leadership and someone, you know, or some group of people with very, very clear direction pushing things forward.”

Claim: A corporate-led blockchain may trade some organizational decentralization for focused leadership and clear direction that advances development.

“And the, the other thing is also, I think it is good to have Robinhood-backed products on the chain too. A lot of chains take the approach of, you know, let a thousand flowers bloom.”

Claim: The speaker believes Robinhood-backed products should also be available on Robinhood Chain.

“Let the developers just build all this stuff. And we love the developers as well, but I think having primitives like stock tokens that have our backing that people can trust, um, uh... We've seen that that just creates more interest to, to build on them. 'Cause, you know, to some degree, people know, okay, Robinhood's backing them. They're, they're legit. Like, that's a trusted brand. We know they're not gonna go away. So, um, that gives them much more confidence to build than, you know, if it was just- A team of, you know, two or three engineers somewhere that are offering these primitives.”

Claim: Robinhood-backed, trusted primitives such as stock tokens can attract developer interest and confidence compared with primitives offered by a small, unknown team.

“I mean, one of the things that I'm thinking about is, um, yeah, it's like how, how can we take some of these derivative products, like options? Can, can you make like really nice smart contract native options contracts? You know, there, there's been a tremendous amount of innovation in the traditional markets that's, to some degree, like stymied by how hard it is to just move off of mainframes onto more modern things and take all the counterparties that are, that rely on the system being predictable and slow-moving.”

Claim: The speaker is exploring whether options and other derivatives can be implemented as smart-contract-native contracts.

“Can, can you make like really nice smart contract native options contracts? You know, there, there's been a tremendous amount of innovation in the traditional markets that's, to some degree, like stymied by how hard it is to just move off of mainframes onto more modern things and take all the counterparties that are, that rely on the system being predictable and slow-moving.”

Claim: Innovation in traditional markets has been constrained partly by the difficulty of replacing mainframes and by counterparties' dependence on predictable, slow-moving systems.

“Um, so I, I think a, a big part of it is just let's provide the primitives and let the developers kind of put them together in, uh, in, in, in new ways.”

Claim: The speaker believes the platform should provide financial primitives and let developers combine them in new ways.

“And I don't wanna, I don't wanna, you know, presuppose what developers come up with because I, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that, you know, stock linked, stock token linked NFTs or, uh, stock token meme pairs would, would become a thing.”

Claim: The speaker does not want to presume what developers will create and says he could not have predicted stock-token-linked NFTs or stock-token and meme-coin pairs.

“Like, I just had no way to, no way to foresee how quickly those things would grow and become, become real.”

Claim: The speaker says he could not foresee how quickly stock-token-linked NFTs and stock-token/meme-coin pairs would grow and become established.

“Yeah, I mean, I actually think prediction markets do tie into ownership because a lot of people have unique knowledge and ideas, and they have hot takes on things that maybe not everyone knows.”

Claim: The speaker believes prediction markets connect to ownership because individuals can have knowledge and opinions that are not widely shared.

“Like, you might be an expert in, uh, AI model development. You know, we have lots of contracts that allow you to speculate and hedge on what AI model will be best this week or this month or, or this year.”

Claim: Contracts allow people, including AI-model-development experts, to speculate or hedge on which AI model will be best over weekly, monthly, or yearly periods.

“And the way to kind of like monetize that knowledge before prediction markets was highly indirect.”

Claim: Before prediction markets, people could monetize specialized knowledge only through highly indirect means.

“Like, maybe you could trade derivatives on, you know, Google stock or NVIDIA stock, right?”

Claim: Trading derivatives on Google or NVIDIA stock was one possible indirect way to monetize specialized knowledge before prediction markets.

“The stock would go down for some unrelated reason, you know, guidance and one of these things. So KPI contracts now allow you to actually trade the, the EPS print, the revenue print, or any of the other KPIs that, that might matter to a company.”

Claim: Robinhood KPI contracts let users trade outcomes tied to a company's earnings-per-share result, revenue result, or other relevant KPIs.

“So, um, I, I think there's that aspect where you can actually monetize your belief. Um, you can hedge more precisely.”

Claim: Robinhood's KPI contracts let users monetize their beliefs and hedge more precisely.

“Um, for example, there's a will the California billionaire tax pass contract, which I think is a useful hedging instrument for some people. Uh, uh, not me personally. I'm not hedging with it, but one could. Uh, the other thing about it is I think it's a new source of, of information. I, I think of it almost as in, in the pure form, prediction markets are an evolution of news.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev considers the California billionaire-tax passage contract a potentially useful hedging instrument for some people, but says he is not personally hedging with it.

“I'm not hedging with it, but one could. Uh, the other thing about it is I think it's a new source of, of information. I, I think of it almost as in, in the pure form, prediction markets are an evolution of news.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev views prediction markets, in their pure form, as an evolution of news and a new source of information.

“So what does news look like in the future? I don't think it's The New York Times, uh, but I think it could be something like it, where you have your front page, your business section, lifestyle, culture, sports, uh, and sports is a big part of it.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks future news may not be The New York Times itself but could have a similar front-page format with business, lifestyle, culture, and sports sections.

“Um, and, and you just can see what's happening and what's likely to happen in the future through the odds. So a lot of people don't even trade these things. They just like to open the app and just check out- ... what's gonna happen. Yeah.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says prediction-market odds can show users what is happening and what may happen, and that many users open the app to check outcomes without trading.

“Yeah. So we launched a product earlier this year, um, which is basically a Robinhood MCP. We call it Agentic Trading, and we, we have Agentic credit card as well.”

Claim: Robinhood launched Agentic Trading, described as a Robinhood MCP, earlier that year and also offers an Agentic credit card.

“So in, in the broader realm of agentic finance, I think there's two things that have product market fit. One is Agentic Trading, very clearly, like having an agent execute your trades and, and do a strategy for you.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Agentic Trading has product-market fit because it lets an agent execute trades and implement a user's strategy.

“And we're seeing really strong adoption, like over a hundred and fifty thousand, uh, customers have opened Agentic Trading accounts with us in, in the few months since we've launched it.”

Claim: Robinhood had more than 150,000 customers open Agentic Trading accounts within a few months of launch.

“And, uh, if you, if you look at the tool calls, you know, the, the tool calls have just been following this smooth exponential where the last number we announced was something like thirty million tool, tool calls per day.”

Claim: Robinhood said Agentic Trading tool calls were following a smooth exponential trend and had most recently reached about 30 million calls per day.

“And a couple weeks ago at our Hood Summit event, we announced Robinhood Agents, which is basically taking it one step further, and the harness and the entire UI is now inside a Robinhood account.”

Claim: Robinhood announced Robinhood Agents at its Hood Summit, integrating the agent harness and full user interface into a Robinhood account.

“So you can, you can kinda think of it as if, if you're a Claude code or a Codex user, uh, it's almost like a, a, a tool like that that's optimized for trading.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev compares Robinhood Agents to tools such as Claude Code or Codex, but optimized for trading.

“So you can run loops and say, "Okay, every day, you know, execute a run of my strategy, rebalance my portfolio, look at opportunities."”

Claim: Robinhood Agents lets users set recurring runs to execute a trading strategy, rebalance a portfolio, and identify opportunities.

“Um, we have skills, so, uh, you, you can, you know, do like a portfolio rebalance or all sorts of other things.”

Claim: Robinhood Agents provides skills for portfolio rebalancing and other tasks.

“Uh, we have agent apps. So we launched an app store where you can, for example, connect to a source of satellite data. And if you wanna create a strategy that like counts cars in parking lots of retailers or, you know, something of that nature, we'll, we'll make that available.”

Claim: Robinhood's agent-app store can connect users to satellite-data sources for strategies such as counting cars in retail parking lots.

“And, and the way that I think that'll evolve is We're, we're gonna look at all the capabilities that the coding harnesses have and see how we can provide really nice, clean trader-native versions of that, that just make it really, really easy to, to be an active trader.”

Claim: Robinhood plans to adapt capabilities from coding harnesses into trader-native tools intended to make active trading easier.

“Well, that's really the north star of the product. It's can we put the capabilities of a hedge fund or a sophisticated algorithmic trading firm into the pockets of normal individuals?”

Claim: Robinhood's product goal is to give ordinary individuals access to capabilities comparable to those of hedge funds or sophisticated algorithmic trading firms.

“So in the same way that, you know, if you were a sophisticated, you know, grad student in computer science or something, you could, uh, write a trading strategy, and if you went through even more effort, you could deploy it, you could get, you know, rack space in the data center, connect it to the exchanges. Um, can we just sort of like streamline all aspects of that so that, you know, in, in the same way that it-it's made it easier for anyone to be a software engineer, Robinhood Agents and our MCP can make it easier for more people to be quant traders.”

Claim: Robinhood aims to streamline strategy creation and deployment—including data-center and exchange connections—to make quant trading accessible to more people.

“And I think the outcome of that is there will just be more trading activity. Um, I think at first it'll be concentrated in a relatively small group of sophisticated people, but their trading activity will likely increase quite substantially, and then over time it'll just filter to more and more of the population.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev predicts agentic trading tools will increase trading activity, first substantially among a small group of sophisticated users and later across a broader population.

“Yeah, I th- I think coding is a good analogy. It's like, um, there's lots of people that wanna-- There's people that code, and for them, you know, they were first to adopt the coding agents and their output multiplied.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says people who code adopted coding agents early and multiplied their output.

“But then now there's people that just wouldn't have picked up, uh, you know, VS Code or Cursor before, but someone showed them how to use Claude or Codex, and now they can build a website just really easily.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says people who would not previously have used VS Code or Cursor can build websites easily after learning to use Claude or Codex.

“So it'll, it'll lift... I think it'll lift the tide across the, across the board.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev expects coding agents to broadly raise people's ability to produce software.

“I don't think so. Um, so I'll tell you the safeguards we have on day one. So right now, you have to create a new separate account, which is segregated from your main Robinhood balance. So you can create an MCP account, you can create an agentic account, you have to move money in there. Um, and then, you know, for customers that choose to have trade approvals, uh, by default, you have to approve your trades, but then you can turn it off so that you could, you could run the strategy-”

Claim: Robinhood requires customers to create a separate agentic trading account, segregated from their main Robinhood balance, and transfer money into it.

“So you can create an MCP account, you can create an agentic account, you have to move money in there. Um, and then, you know, for customers that choose to have trade approvals, uh, by default, you have to approve your trades, but then you can turn it off so that you could, you could run the strategy-”

Claim: For customers who enable trade approvals on Robinhood's agentic account, trade approval is required by default, but they can turn it off to run the strategy without approvals.

“Exactly. Well, actually, it's, it's not as dangerous as that because it's not like it can go into your other accounts and- ... move money for you.”

Claim: Robinhood's agentic account is restricted from accessing a customer's other accounts or moving money for the customer.

“So it's, it's, uh, sandboxed. It's, uh, sandboxed, uh, maybe not quite air-gapped, but, but pretty close. And we built a lot of the-- We refined a lot of the infrastructure for the sandboxing and the harness in-house at Robinhood.”

Claim: Robinhood's agentic trading environment is sandboxed, though not necessarily fully air-gapped, and Robinhood developed much of its sandboxing infrastructure and harness in-house.

“Yeah, so far I think that it's not just a huge percentage of the market. The reason I don't think-- I, I don't see any clear massive overhauls necessary is that high-frequency trading has been a thing for a really long time.”

Claim: The speaker sees no clear need for massive infrastructure overhauls for agentic trading, partly because high-frequency trading has existed for a long time.

“I mean, markets went fully electronic, uh, about twenty years ago. And so, um, you know, everything from the exchanges to a lot of the brokers have sort of conformed to this new reality of most of the workflows being algorithmic trading that happens in data centers in New Jersey rather than what a lot of people still think happens, which is have paper tickets- ... and floor traders in, in a trading pit. So I, I don't think-- It's, it's not clear to me that anything fundamental has to change with regulation.”

Claim: Most trading workflows involve algorithmic trading conducted in New Jersey data centers, rather than paper tickets and floor traders in trading pits.

“I mean, markets went fully electronic, uh, about twenty years ago. And so, um, you know, everything from the exchanges to a lot of the brokers have sort of conformed to this new reality of most of the workflows being”

Claim: Markets became fully electronic about twenty years before the conversation.

“... and floor traders in, in a trading pit. So I, I don't think-- It's, it's not clear to me that anything fundamental has to change with regulation.”

Claim: The speaker does not see a clear need for fundamental regulatory change in response to agentic trading.

“Um, but, you know, as, as it gets bigger, and which I don't doubt it will, we might run into special cases for which we, we need more regulatory clarity or...”

Claim: The speaker expects that growth in agentic trading may create special cases requiring additional regulatory clarity.

“Yeah, I mean, there's a couple of different layers in the stack, right? And we, we should expect our on-chain stack is slightly different.”

Claim: Robinhood expects its on-chain technology stack to differ somewhat from its other trading infrastructure.

“That already has MCPs. Um, but you have our on-chain tools, um, which a lot of it is... You know, I talked about Robinhood Chain being the best chain for real-world assets.”

Claim: The speaker claims that Robinhood Chain is the best blockchain for real-world assets.

“Also, it's the best chain for AI agents.”

Claim: The speaker claims that Robinhood Chain is the best blockchain for AI agents.

“So we're seeing a lot of agentic trading there. On our, um, CeFi centralized offerings, um, you know, w-we, we, we have a lot of end-to-end control over- The entire system, right? We have our databases, we have our code that the strategies are running on, the sandboxes. We build a lot of those tools. We have to optimize all of that.”

Claim: Robinhood has substantial end-to-end control over its centralized-finance trading system, including the databases, strategy-running code, and sandboxes.

“So we're seeing a lot of agentic trading there. On our, um, CeFi centralized offerings, um, you know, w-we, we, we have a lot of end-to-end control over- The entire system, right?”

Claim: Robinhood reports substantial agentic trading on its on-chain offerings.

“We have our databases, we have our code that the strategies are running on, the sandboxes. We build a lot of those tools. We have to optimize all of that.”

Claim: Robinhood needs to optimize the databases, strategy-running code, and sandbox tools in its centralized trading system.

“the algo, the market makers, which are all extremely sophisticated software shops. I mean, you're talking Citadel, Jane Street, Jump Trading.”

Claim: The speaker describes Citadel, Jane Street, and Jump Trading as highly sophisticated software firms that act as market makers.

“These are like latency, low latency, high frequency folks. So I'm not so worried about them scaling to meet the demand. And then, and then you have the exchanges, and the exchanges, because of pressure from HFTs and algo trading, have really optimized their APIs to, to handle huge volumes.”

Claim: Pressure from high-frequency and algorithmic trading has led exchanges to optimize their APIs to handle very large volumes.

“These are like latency, low latency, high frequency folks. So I'm not so worried about them scaling to meet the demand. And then, and then you have the exchanges, and the exchanges, because of pressure from HFTs and algo trading, have really optimized their APIs to, to handle huge volumes.”

Claim: The speaker is not very concerned that low-latency, high-frequency trading firms will be unable to scale to meet demand.

“But that said, I think that we're still, we're still at a low percentage of the total trading is agentic. So, um, I think we'll have some warning.”

Claim: Agentic trading currently accounts for a low percentage of total trading, and the speaker expects to receive warning as its share increases.

“I mean, we'll see it increasing, and I, I don't think that, you know, we're, we're gonna be at the point, you know, imminently where agentic mediated trades are, you know, a double-digit percentage of, of the activity. I think we'll have some time.”

Claim: The speaker expects agentic trading to grow, but does not expect agent-mediated trades to account for a double-digit percentage of trading activity imminently.

“Yeah. Um, and, and I think we identified this problem last year. You know, it, it's a couple of things, right? First, all of the major innovative AI companies are private. I mean, with some exceptions. You can look at Nvidia and, and, uh, and Google. But, you know, yeah, but those companies were already quite big before they really got into this new phase of, of AI.”

Claim: The speaker says that all major innovative AI companies are private, except for some companies such as Nvidia and Google.

“Yeah. Um, and, and I think we identified this problem last year. You know, it, it's a couple of things, right? First, all of the major innovative AI companies are private.”

Claim: Robinhood identified last year the problem that ownership of innovative AI companies is not broadly accessible through public markets.

“I mean, with some exceptions. You can look at Nvidia and, and, uh, and Google. But, you know, yeah, but those companies were already quite big before they really got into this new phase of, of AI.”

Claim: Nvidia and Google were already quite large before they entered the newer phase of AI.

“So if you wanted to invest in a large language model, uh, a couple of years ago, and you wanted exposure to OpenAI or Anthropic, uh, you're basically out of luck as a, as an individual investor.”

Claim: A couple of years before the conversation, individual investors had essentially no way to gain investment exposure to OpenAI or Anthropic.

“Um, and, and I think there's a lot of reasons for that. One is private markets have gotten... It's, it's gotten really easy for high-growth successful companies to raise money in the private markets.”

Claim: The speaker says private markets have made it very easy for successful, high-growth companies to raise capital.

“At massive scale, yes.”

Claim: At massive scale, individual investors can benefit economically from AI-related activity.

“Massive scale, and that didn't used to be the case. You know, back in the '80s, a company like Microsoft, uh, even in the '90s with Amazon, you know, they went public at valuations in the hundreds of millions.”

Claim: Microsoft in the 1980s and Amazon in the 1990s went public at valuations in the hundreds of millions.

“So individual investors that got in during the public offering could make 1000X. Now, if you have, uh, an AI lab that goes public at a trillion or two trillion, in order for a- an individual investor at IPO to make that type of return, they'd have to get into the quadrillions, right?”

Claim: Investors who bought Microsoft or Amazon at their public offerings could make 1,000x returns.

“So individual investors that got in during the public offering could make 1000X. Now, if you have, uh, an AI lab that goes public at a trillion or two trillion, in order for a- an individual investor at IPO to make that type of return, they'd have to get into the quadrillions, right?”

Claim: For an IPO investor in an AI lab valued at one or two trillion dollars to earn a 1,000x return, the lab would need to reach a valuation in the quadrillions.

“Crazy. I, I think it's unlikely, basically. Maybe it could happen, but I think it's gonna be much tougher. And instead, you know, the, the gains keep getting concentrated into a smaller and smaller group of venture capitalists or institutional investors.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks gains from AI-related companies are increasingly concentrated among a smaller group of venture capitalists and institutional investors.

“Crazy. I, I think it's unlikely, basically. Maybe it could happen, but I think it's gonna be much tougher. And instead, you know, the, the gains keep getting concentrated into a smaller and smaller group of venture capitalists or institutional investors.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks an AI lab reaching a valuation in the quadrillions is unlikely, though possible.

“Um, and you know, then we're wondering, well, why are people upset about data centers? Well, I mean, if you think about it, if I'm an individual, I don't benefit economically from any of this activity. In fact, you could say, "Well, it's threatening my livelihood, my job. It's polluting my neighborhood. They're making all this noise." Um, and yet juxtapose AI with something like crypto.”

Claim: An individual who does not benefit economically from AI activity may view it as a threat to their livelihood, a source of neighborhood pollution, and a source of noise.

“Uh, crypto has not been... It's not like everyone trading crypto makes money, you know? And right now, Bitcoin is, uh, what is it?”

Claim: Trading cryptocurrency does not guarantee that every trader makes money.

“Eighty-five thousand. If you bought at a hundred and twenty thousand a couple of months ago, you're down. Um, 2022 and 2023 were rough for the crypto industry, to say the least. Uh, a lot of people lost money in those years. But yet in 2024, they came out in full force and, um, swung the election, I think, in a meaningful way.”

Claim: The cryptocurrency industry had difficult years in 2022 and 2023, when many people lost money.

“Eighty-five thousand. If you bought at a hundred and twenty thousand a couple of months ago, you're down. Um, 2022 and 2023 were rough for the crypto industry, to say the least.”

Claim: At the time of the conversation, Bitcoin was at $85,000, so a buyer who purchased it at $120,000 a couple of months earlier would have been at a loss.

“Uh, a lot of people lost money in those years. But yet in 2024, they came out in full force and, um, swung the election, I think, in a meaningful way.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks crypto supporters mobilized strongly in 2024 and influenced the election meaningfully.

“And if there's, uh, even a hint of regulatory overreach for crypto, you have this army of people that are just blasting social media and, you know, messaging their, their congressman and, uh, or woman and just fighting every, every inch of it.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says that perceived regulatory overreach against cryptocurrency can mobilize supporters to campaign on social media, contact members of Congress, and oppose the regulation vigorously.

“And I think a big part of it is crypto is distributed broad ownership by individuals from the beginning, and it's almost institutions are coming in late, um, whereas AI is, is the difference.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks crypto's broad individual ownership from the outset, compared with institutions entering later, helps explain crypto supporters' mobilization; AI ownership differs from this pattern.

“So, uh, what do we do about it? Well, we launched two things. We believe that everyone should be able to invest in private companies, and I can't convince companies to go public earlier too effectively even though-”

Claim: Robinhood believes all individuals should have the ability to invest in private companies.

“So, uh, what do we do about it? Well, we launched two things. We believe that everyone should be able to invest in private companies, and I can't convince companies to go public earlier too effectively even though-”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he has not been very effective at convincing companies to go public earlier, although he sometimes tries.

“Even though I try doing that sometimes. Like, we do have our IPO. I mean, we're an underwriter. We're active in that pipeline. But, uh, individual investors should benefit from private companies and be a huge shareholder.”

Claim: Individual investors should be able to benefit from private companies and hold substantial ownership stakes in them.

“Even though I try doing that sometimes. Like, we do have our IPO. I mean, we're an underwriter. We're active in that pipeline. But, uh, individual investors should benefit from private companies and be a huge shareholder.”

Claim: Robinhood underwrites IPOs and is active in the IPO pipeline.

“That, that's really the, the vision behind Robinhood Ventures. How can we make it so that it's an anomaly to not have individual retail investors as a big constituent of your seed and Series A cap table?”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures aims for individual retail investors to be significant shareholders in companies at the seed and Series A stages, making their absence unusual.

“So they should get-- They should actually be at the earliest possible stage. And so Robinhood Ventures Fund 1, we actually have an innovative structure for this.”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures Fund 1 uses a structure intended to give retail investors access to private-company investing at the earliest possible stage.

“You can kind of think of it as a publicly traded venture capital firm. And so what we did was we used our IPO channel, which we're the largest retail channel for IPOs, and we used that to raise capital in an IPO from Robinhood customers, individual retail, and then we used that to invest in startups.”

Claim: Robinhood is the largest retail distribution channel for IPOs.

“You can kind of think of it as a publicly traded venture capital firm. And so what we did was we used our IPO channel, which we're the largest retail channel for IPOs, and we used that to raise capital in an IPO from Robinhood customers, individual retail, and then we used that to invest in startups.”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures Fund 1 operates like a publicly traded venture capital firm, raising IPO capital from Robinhood's retail customers and investing it in startups.

“And then the, the funds are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. So they trade just like a stock. And so Robinhood Ventures Fund One was late-stage privates.”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures Fund One invests in late-stage private companies.

“And then the, the funds are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. So they trade just like a stock. And so Robinhood Ventures Fund One was late-stage privates.”

Claim: Robinhood's venture funds are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and trade like stocks.

“OpenAI is in that fund. You have, uh, you have a couple of other companies, fintechs, a lot of AI companies, Eleven Labs, um, Crusoe, uh, we recently announced.”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures Fund One includes OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Crusoe, and other fintech and AI companies.

“Um, uh, so that was ultra late stage. And then we asked ourselves, "Well, how can we actually go to the extreme and give people exposure to seed in series A?" And that's, uh, that's where Robinhood Ventures Fund Two, the idea came to partner with YC and, uh, use a structure to give people, uh, exposure to the earliest possible stage where the risk is highest, but the opportunity is, is also greatest, and that's the fund that Rich Aberman is, uh, is running for us.”

Claim: Robinhood Ventures Fund Two partners with YC to provide investors exposure to seed- and Series A-stage companies.

“And that's, uh, that's where Robinhood Ventures Fund Two, the idea came to partner with YC and, uh, use a structure to give people, uh, exposure to the earliest possible stage where the risk is highest, but the opportunity is, is also greatest, and that's the fund that Rich Aberman is, uh, is running for us.”

Claim: Rich Aberman manages Robinhood Ventures Fund Two.

“And that's, uh, that's where Robinhood Ventures Fund Two, the idea came to partner with YC and, uh, use a structure to give people, uh, exposure to the earliest possible stage where the risk is highest, but the opportunity is, is also greatest, and that's the fund that Rich Aberman is, uh, is running for us.”

Claim: Investing in seed- and Series A-stage companies involves the highest risk and the greatest opportunity.

“And then we have tokenization of privates, which solves that problem in a different way, but right now for outside of the US. And the North Star is can we get a private company to be real time tradable twenty four/seven in fractional quantities just like a stock or a crypto?”

Claim: Robinhood's goal is to make private-company ownership tradable in real time, 24/7, and in fractional quantities, like stocks or cryptocurrency.

“And then we have tokenization of privates, which solves that problem in a different way, but right now for outside of the US. And the North Star is can we get a private company to be real time tradable twenty four/seven in fractional quantities just like a stock or a crypto?”

Claim: Robinhood offers tokenization of private companies as an access mechanism outside the United States.

“Can you... You should be able to just trade Anthropic twenty four/seven in low dollar amounts, um, with like some degree of high quality ownership, at least as good as, you know, owning LP interest in an SPV, right?”

Claim: People should be able to trade fractional Anthropic exposure 24/7 in small dollar amounts, with ownership quality at least comparable to an SPV limited-partner interest.

“Um, and, and that should be available to everyone. So that requires pushing on a bunch of things in the US, accredited investor rules being one of them.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes everyone should have access to fractional trading in private companies.

“Um, and, and that should be available to everyone. So that requires pushing on a bunch of things in the US, accredited investor rules being one of them.”

Claim: Expanding access to private-company trading in the United States requires addressing issues such as accredited-investor rules.

“But, uh, yeah, we're, we're highly motivated to lead that and, and make that happen.”

Claim: Robinhood is highly motivated to lead efforts to expand access to private-company trading.

“Yeah. You know, and there's... There was an initiative by the SEC, um, it was announced last week, to, uh, allow a separate path.”

Claim: The SEC announced an initiative the week before the conversation to establish a separate path to accredited-investor status.

“So they directed FINRA, which is the, uh, primary broker-dealer regulator, to create a, an exam, an accreditation exam, where, um, you know, you can go as an individual and get accredited by, you know, taking a two-hour exam at a testing facility.”

Claim: The SEC directed FINRA to develop a two-hour accreditation exam that individuals could take at a testing facility to qualify as accredited investors.

“V-versus it being asset based, or there's also, you know, you could be affiliated, you could have a series seven, which is an affiliation with a financial firm, uh, licensure. But yeah, so it's a knowledge-based exam. Um, and I think it's definitely a positive step. I think they're doing stuff. But yeah, I think the, the goal would be to make it lower friction, 'cause how many people are gonna go and sit for an exam, uh, at a testing facility?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev considers the proposed accreditation exam a positive, knowledge-based step toward accreditation.

“But yeah, so it's a knowledge-based exam. Um, and I think it's definitely a positive step. I think they're doing stuff. But yeah, I think the, the goal would be to make it lower friction, 'cause how many people are gonna go and sit for an exam, uh, at a testing facility? So I, I think more work needs to be done, and we're, we're gonna be at the forefront of continuing to push for that.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks accredited-investor qualification should be easier to complete and that further work is needed to reduce friction.

“So I, I think more work needs to be done, and we're, we're gonna be at the forefront of continuing to push for that.”

Claim: Robinhood intends to lead continued efforts to change the accredited-investor qualification process.

“For our customers, you know, I, we, we spend a lot of time talking to them, figuring out what they care about, and one of the things they care about most that they agree with is, uh, the statement that I should be in charge of, of my money, and nobody should tell me how to spend or invest my money. When we say to our customers, "Do you agree with this?" I mean, there's overwhelming agreement. Um, so not to say that they'll personally wanna do every type of risky speculative investment, but they don't think that it's the government's place or anyone's place to tell them what to do with their money broadly.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood customers overwhelmingly agree that they should control their own money and that nobody should tell them how to spend or invest it.

“When we say to our customers, "Do you agree with this?" I mean, there's overwhelming agreement. Um, so not to say that they'll personally wanna do every type of risky speculative investment, but they don't think that it's the government's place or anyone's place to tell them what to do with their money broadly.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood customers may not want to make every risky speculative investment, but generally oppose others telling them what to do with their money.

“Now, of course, I think that people should be absolutely clear on what these products are, and so we should make sure to, uh, tell you what it is, give you as much information as possible.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes financial product providers should clearly explain what products are and provide as much information as possible.

“But, you know, I, I think about this, am I gonna tell you not to invest in the hot IPO? IPOs are risky, for sure. Um, uh, meme coins even.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says IPOs are risky.

“Meme coins have like perfect regulatory clarity. If you wanna buy a meme coin, you are free to do so, and the SEC even wrote a letter saying, "These are not securities, they're collectibles."”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says the SEC wrote that meme coins are collectibles rather than securities.

“Meme coins have like perfect regulatory clarity. If you wanna buy a meme coin, you are free to do so, and the SEC even wrote a letter saying, "These are not securities, they're collectibles."”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says meme coins have perfect regulatory clarity.

“You know, it's, uh, clear the, clear the way. Um, so I think, I think it's silly to... from, from a couple of different angles, not, not the least of which is, you know, meme coins are completely fine in any amount, but private companies-”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says meme coins are completely fine in any amount.

“Yeah, I, I think, I think that's right. And, and people are smart, right? I think that, um, I mean, there, there should be some sensible regulation.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes some sensible regulation should exist.

“I'm, I'm in favor of, of that, but I think that, um, we've just gone too far, and the, the conditions that made the accredited investor rule necessary no longer hold.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes financial regulations have gone too far and that the conditions that once made the accredited investor rule necessary no longer exist.

“I mean, these rules are from a time before the internet. You couldn't even get any information. Um, and now there's just an influx of information about everything, particularly private companies and AI models that can just scour and synthesize it for you.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says information is now abundant, especially about private companies, and AI models can search and synthesize it.

“I mean, these rules are from a time before the internet. You couldn't even get any information. Um, and now there's just an influx of information about everything, particularly private companies and AI models that can just scour and synthesize it for you.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says the relevant financial rules originated before the internet, when information was difficult to obtain.

“So, yeah, I think it, it makes a little bit less sense now.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes the relevant financial rules make somewhat less sense in the current information environment.

“Yeah. So this, uh, this was like our way of serving our country, which we're very proud of. Um, so Robinhood was, uh, selected as the sole initial trustee and broker for the Trump accounts, and we're working f-with BNY, which is America's oldest and most storied bank, and, and with Treasury and IRS to make this program happen.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood is working with BNY, the U.S. Treasury, and the IRS to implement the Trump accounts program.

“Yeah. So this, uh, this was like our way of serving our country, which we're very proud of. Um, so Robinhood was, uh, selected as the sole initial trustee and broker for the Trump accounts, and we're working f-with BNY, which is America's oldest and most storied bank, and, and with Treasury and IRS to make this program happen.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood was selected as the sole initial trustee and broker for the Trump accounts.

“And yeah, the, the idea behind it is, can we get- Every child from birth to own a chunk of the US economy through the S&P five hundred, through low cost diversified, uh, ETF.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says the Trump accounts program aims to give every child from birth a stake in the U.S. economy through a low-cost, diversified S&P 500 ETF.

“And, uh, for every newborn child, so e-everyone born in January twenty twenty-five onward for the next three years, uh, they get a thousand dollars seeded by Treasury.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says children born from January 2025 through the following three years receive $1,000 seeded by the Treasury.

“And Michael and Susan Dell, through their foundation, added another over six billion to children in lower income zip codes.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Michael and Susan Dell's foundation added more than $6 billion for children in lower-income ZIP codes.

“And a, a bunch of other people are following, like Gwynne Shotwell, uh, uh, committed a donation, SpaceX shares. Brad Gerstner, who was the brains and the architect behind the program, he, you know, pushed it forward and also, uh, made a, a really big donation to the, the citizens of Indiana and, and their children.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Brad Gerstner helped design and advance the program and made a large donation benefiting Indiana residents and their children.

“And a, a bunch of other people are following, like Gwynne Shotwell, uh, uh, committed a donation, SpaceX shares. Brad Gerstner, who was the brains and the architect behind the program, he, you know, pushed it forward and also, uh, made a, a really big donation to the, the citizens of Indiana and, and their children.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Gwynne Shotwell committed to donate SpaceX shares to the program.

“And, um, so we're kind of powering the infrastructure, building the app. Um, and, you know, we love it because I think it's the, I think it's the best thing for actually getting household stock ownership from sixty-five percent to ninety-five percent.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes the Trump accounts program is the best way to increase household stock ownership from 65% to 95%.

“And, um, so we're kind of powering the infrastructure, building the app. Um, and, you know, we love it because I think it's the, I think it's the best thing for actually getting household stock ownership from sixty-five percent to ninety-five percent.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood is providing infrastructure for the Trump accounts program and building its app.

“So, uh, when it's successful, I think it'll lead to, uh, a much more stable and prosperous society in, in many decades.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev predicts that if the Trump accounts program succeeds, it will produce a much more stable and prosperous society over many decades.

“Our, our goal is to make this, like, the, um, the, the best product the government's ever launched and the most enduring positive, uh, aspect of, of, uh, President Trump's legacy. That's our goal.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says Robinhood aims to make the Trump accounts the government's best-ever product launch and the most enduring positive part of President Trump's legacy.

“I think going through a lot of challenges, um, as a child just made me very used to going through challenges, right? Um, and, you know, I had a, a, I had a very supportive and, uh, a-amazing family, great parents.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says childhood challenges made him accustomed to facing challenges.

“made me very used to going through challenges, right? Um, and, you know, I had a, a, I had a very supportive and, uh, a-amazing family, great parents.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says he had a very supportive family and great parents.

“But we were kind of, uh, in this together, right? We kind of all immigrated to the US at the same time, and I wasn't, like, a child that was given things, right?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his family immigrated to the United States together and that he was not simply given things as a child.

“It was almost like you're a member of this family, and we all kinda have to figure this out. You... I had my part. They had their parts. Um, so it was, you know, obviously their child, but kinda treated with a lot of autonomy, almost as an equal from a very young age.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his family gave him substantial autonomy and responsibilities from a very young age, treating him almost as an equal.

“Well, does it compare to the threat of deportation?" What about, you know... You know, we talk about inflation here of five percent and freak out about it. What about the two thousand percent inflation that, you know, we went through as, as children? Um, so, you know, sometimes I think about that with my own kids, right?”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his family experienced 2,000% inflation during his childhood, contrasting it with contemporary concern about 5% inflation.

“We try. I mean, I try to construct challenge, but you have to construct it, right? It, it's, it's a little bit harder. And they, they get a lot of positives. Like, they could have tutors. They could, you know, go to all kinds of museums that I didn't have, uh-”

Claim: Vlad Tenev tries to create challenges for his children but finds it harder because they have many advantages.

“Like, they could have tutors. They could, you know, go to all kinds of museums that I didn't have, uh-”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says his children can have tutors and visit museums that he could not access as a child.

“Yeah. But, but they have safety. And, um, you know, I think there's something very important about having to, like, struggle and endure.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes struggling and enduring are very important.

“Yeah. But, but they have safety. And, um, you know, I think there's something very important about having to, like, struggle and endure.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev believes that struggling and enduring are important.

“I try to, like, uh, create that environment as much as possible, but I think I haven't figured it out. So, uh, I think, I think that's a big part of it, and also probably, as we were talking before, um, it's a good bit of, like, nature versus nurture.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev tries to create an environment that gives his children opportunities to struggle and endure, but says he has not figured out how to do it.

“I try to, like, uh, create that environment as much as possible, but I think I haven't figured it out. So, uh, I think, I think that's a big part of it, and also probably, as we were talking before, um, it's a good bit of, like, nature versus nurture. Maybe I was just born like that, and I don't know how much of it's the environment either.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev suspects his level-headedness may partly be innate and is unsure how much it comes from his environment.

“I try to, like, uh, create that environment as much as possible, but I think I haven't figured it out. So, uh, I think, I think that's a big part of it, and also probably, as we were talking before, um, it's a good bit of, like, nature versus nurture.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev tries to create an environment that encourages struggle and endurance, but believes he has not yet figured out how to do so.

“I try to, like, uh, create that environment as much as possible, but I think I haven't figured it out. So, uh, I think, I think that's a big part of it, and also probably, as we were talking before, um, it's a good bit of, like, nature versus nurture.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks the issue of how people develop resilience is partly a matter of nature versus nurture.

“Maybe I was just born like that, and I don't know how much of it's the environment either.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev is uncertain whether his disposition toward struggle and endurance is innate or shaped by his environment.

“I think Bezos said this, right? The best approach to all of these challenges is just grow thick skin. You can control that about yourself, but you can't control the outside world.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev says people can control whether they develop thick skin, but cannot control the outside world.

“So if you can actually do that, I think it, it seems to be a big superpower that not everyone is capable of.”

Claim: Vlad Tenev thinks the ability to develop thick skin seems to be a major advantage that not everyone is capable of achieving.