- OpenAI distanced itself from Robinhood’s announcement that it would offer “tokenized” equity in the AI giant on its platform.
- Robinhood revealed plans to offer tokenized shares of private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX to European users.
- OpenAI said it was not involved in the plan, warning investors to be cautious.
OpenAI threw cold water on an announcement from Robinhood this week that said some users could soon buy “tokenized” equity in the AI titan on the popular brokerage app.
Robinhood stock has surged this week on news that the company is offering tokenized shares of popular stocks, including shares of private companies OpenAI and SpaceX, to European users.
However, the AI startup issued a statement this week that distanced itself from the plan.
In a June 2 post on its X account, OpenAI stated that the tokens being offered by Robinhood are not actually equity in the company.
“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,” the posted stated.
OpenAI ended the statement advising potential investors to "please be careful."
Tokenized assets are blockchain-enabled representations of securities like stocks. Importantly for investors, though, they are not the same as owning equity in a company, and the price of the tokens may not be correlated with an underlying stock.
OpenAI and SpaceX rank among the world's most valuable and high-profile private companies. Although Robinhood's token offering is only available to European users, it sparked considerable interest from retail investors who viewed it as a way to gain exposure.
In a statement to Business Insider, a Robinhood spokesperson said:
"To cap off our recent crypto event, we announced a limited stock token giveaway on OpenAI and SpaceX to eligible European customers. 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."
Additionally, CEO Vlad Tenev followed the post with one of his own, providing some context on the equity statements.
"While it is true that they aren't technically "equity" (you can see the precise dynamics in our Terms for those interested), the tokens effectively give retail investors exposure to these private assets," he said.
Tenev added that Robinhood's giveaway "plants a seed for something much bigger," claiming that since the announcement, other private companies have expressed interest in joining the "tokenization revolution" though he offered no specific details.