Robinhood’s stock surged to record highs earlier this week after the brokerage announced plans to offer tokenized shares of private companies, including OpenAI. But the ChatGPT maker quickly distanced itself from the move, cautioning investors not to confuse the tokens with actual company stock.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” said OpenAI in a post on X yesterday (July 2). “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it. Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer.”
Robinhood first unveiled its plan on June 30, offering tokenized shares in OpenAI and SpaceX. Both are privately held companies whose stock is typically unavailable to retail investors. Priced at 5 euros ($5.87) each, the tokens are being distributed to users who register by July 7. They are only available to eligible customers in the European Union, where financial regulations are comparatively more relaxed.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” Robinhood said in a statement.
While Robinhood has not disclosed specifics about the special purpose vehicle (SPV), such entities have become increasingly popular as a way to pool capital and gain exposure to fast-growing startups. In some cases, SPVs have even invested in other SPVs holding stakes in A.I. companies like OpenAI, creating a multi-layered investment structure.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged that the tokens “aren’t technically equity,” but said they “effectively give retail investors exposure to these private assets.” According to the company’s website, the tokens are blockchain-based contracts that track the value of underlying equity in the companies.
An attempt to democratize equity access
Robinhood’s rollout of tokenized shares in private companies came alongside the launch of over 200 tokenized stocks tied to exchange-traded funds and publicly traded giants like Nvidia and Apple. The broader announcement helped boost Robinhood’s shares by as much as 10 percent, reaching a record high of $100.
However, following OpenAI’s public disapproval, Robinhood’s stock has since fallen more than 3 percent. SpaceX, another private company included in the token program, has not responded to Observer’s requests for comment.
Despite the backlash from OpenAI, Tenev says the initiative has sparked strong interest from other private firms. “Since our OpenAI and SpaceX announcement, we’ve been hearing from many private companies that are eager to join us in the tokenization revolution,” the CEO said.
Robinhood isn’t the only company racing to democratize access to equity in private markets. Republic, an investment platform, announced last month that it too will offer exposure to private companies through digital tokens. Starting off with SpaceX, its offerings will expand to OpenAI and other private startups like Anthropic and Epic Games. Its tokens are available to retail investors in the U.S. thanks to an exemption obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).