FinTech Robinhood valued $11.2bn after $200mn funding round

FinTech startup Robinhood, the online trading platform proving popular with millennials, has announced a US$200mn Series G funding at a $11.2bn valuation from New York hedge fund D1 Capital Partners.

As recently as July, the US-based unicorn was valued at $8.6bn, but record trading figures for June saw the company register 4.31 million daily average revenue trades (DARTs).

In comparison, Charles Schwab posted 1.8 million DARTs in the same period, behind Interactive Brokers (1.86 million) and TD Ameritrade (3.84 million). This is the first time Robinhood has declared its DARTs figures.

This surge is attributed to retail investors and a growing awareness of, and interest in, trading during the global pandemic.

Robinhood reports a 250% increase in average unique daily visitors to its educational resources where potential traders can learn the basics and hone their own portfolio strategy.

“History has shown us that over time, the stock market can be an important wealth creation tool,” the company said on its website. “Equally important to access is education, particularly in volatile market conditions, which is why we offer resources to help people stay informed.”

Enhancing the customer experience

Robinhood says the new funding will be invested in improving its core product and in its customer experience delivery.

On 11 August, Robinhood announced plans to hire “hundreds” of employees to join its customer experience team.

“Supporting and communicating with our customers - both those new to investing and those with more experience - is a critical part of our responsibility to them,” said Alex Mesa, Head of Customer Experience at Robinhood. 

“We’ve more than doubled our support team since January and we’ll continue to grow our teams to provide timely, helpful responses to our customers.”

The California-based FinTech allows users to invest in public companies and exchange-traded funds on US stock exchanges without paying commission, foreign exchange fees or account minimums.

It also lets them purchase cryptocurrencies and has a range of banking products that include checking and savings accounts and debits.

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