Robinhood is accelerating its push into artificial intelligence, with CEO Vlad Tenev saying AI agents are moving closer to performing the same trading functions as human investors.
Speaking with CNBC on Thursday, Tenev said Robinhood's vision for "agentic trading" is to make sophisticated automated investing tools available to retail customers, bringing capabilities that have traditionally been reserved for institutional firms into the hands of everyday investors. He said the company's long-term goal is for AI agents to carry out every trading function that a human trader can perform.
"The idea behind agentic trading is every capability a human can do will be available to an AI agent," Tenev said during the interview. Drawing on his background in programmatic trading before founding Robinhood, he added that much of today's institutional trading is already powered by automation and AI, with those technologies largely remaining beyond the reach of individual investors.
Robinhood took a major step in that direction in May when it introduced Agentic Trading, allowing customers to connect third-party AI agents to dedicated brokerage accounts that can analyze portfolios, develop trading strategies and execute stock trades within user-defined limits. The company also launched an Agentic Credit Card, enabling AI agents to make purchases on behalf of customers while operating under built-in spending controls and approval settings, according to Reuters.
The initial rollout focuses on stock trading, with Robinhood saying users receive notifications of trades executed by their AI agents and retain the ability to monitor or disconnect them. The company also incorporated fraud detection measures and dedicated wallets designed to limit an agent's access to customer funds, TechCrunch reported after the launch.
Tenev's comments came a day after Robinhood unveiled a broader expansion of its international business at an event in London. The company said it plans to launch crypto trading in the United Kingdom while expanding its perpetual futures offering across Europe as it seeks to grow beyond its U.S. retail investing business. The European expansion also includes perpetual futures tied to commodities, currencies and exchange-traded funds, according to another Reuters report.
Robinhood has been steadily increasing its investment in AI over the past two years. In 2024, the company acquired AI-powered investment research platform Pluto, and it later introduced AI-assisted investing tools designed to help customers better understand market opportunities. The addition of AI agents represents the company's latest effort to automate more aspects of investing while allowing customers to retain oversight of transactions.
The company has experienced a mixed year financially. Robinhood reported first-quarter earnings in April that fell short of Wall Street expectations after cryptocurrency market volatility weighed on trading activity. Trading conditions have improved since then as equity markets recovered and geopolitical tensions eased, helping revive retail investing activity, the CNBC report said.
Robinhood also announced earlier this month that it would reduce its workforce by about 10% as part of an effort to streamline operations. In a message to employees shared publicly, Tenev said the company's business remained strong but that it needed to operate as a leaner organization while pursuing its growth strategy.
