OpenAI has clarified that Robinhood’s sale of “OpenAI tokens” will not grant ordinary consumers equity in the company. The official newsroom account on X stated that OpenAI was not involved in the token sale and does not endorse Robinhood’s initiative.
OpenAI emphasized that the “OpenAI tokens” being sold by Robinhood do not represent equity in the company. OpenAI did not partner with Robinhood for this venture and did not approve any transfer of its equity. The company issued a warning for consumers to be cautious.
Robinhood recently announced plans to sell tokenized shares of companies like OpenAI and SpaceX to individuals in the European Union. This move aims to provide retail investors with exposure to the equity of private companies through blockchain technology.
However, private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX do not offer shares to the public, as they choose their investors selectively. OpenAI has distanced itself from Robinhood’s initiative, expressing disapproval of the token sales.
In response to OpenAI’s stance, a spokesperson for Robinhood mentioned that the OpenAI tokens were part of a limited giveaway to provide indirect exposure to retail investors through the company’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
While the tokens and SPV shares are not direct equity ownership, they offer investors a way to access private assets. Robinhood appears to link the price of its tokenized products to OpenAI shares in the SPV, but prices may differ from actual stock shares.
According to Robinhood’s help center, purchasing stock tokens means acquiring tokenized contracts that mirror the price of the underlying stocks recorded on a blockchain. CEO Vlad Tenev sees this initiative as a step towards a broader tokenization trend, with other private companies expressing interest in joining.
OpenAI chose not to provide further comments on the matter, while Robinhood did not respond to inquiries about its SPV from TechCrunch.
Private companies typically resist any actions that could impact the valuation of their equity. Recent examples include Figure AI sending cease-and-desist letters to brokers involved in secondary markets selling the company’s stock. Startups generally discourage unauthorized share sales to maintain control over their equity.
