Robinhood's attempt to democratize private market investing stumbled with its Robinhood Ventures Fund I, which raised only $658.4 million against a $1 billion target. The fund offering retail investors access to private companies including Databricks and Stripe saw shares fall 16% on their NYSE debut, closing at $21 below the $25 offering price.

The performance contrasts sharply with Destiny Tech100, which surged 86% on its debut and now trades at a 33% premium to its net asset value. Robinhood's fund lacks exposure to the most anticipated IPO candidates like OpenAI and SpaceX that investors are most eager to own.

Robinhood aims to expand the fund to 15-20 late-stage growth companies and is specifically targeting OpenAI for inclusion. However, gaining access to these high-profile companies' cap tables proves difficult, requiring either direct investment in primary rounds or purchasing shares from existing investors with company approval.