Robinhood Advances AI Agents in Trading Workflows

Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, believes AI will assume a far greater role in investment markets, suggesting that AI agents could eventually execute trading tasks at a level comparable to human traders while broadening access to investing tools.

Speaking to CNBC about Robinhood’s long-term AI ambitions, Vlad outlines plans to build “agentic trading” systems capable of carrying out a wide spectrum of trading activities on behalf of users.

“The idea behind agentic trading[is] every capability a human can do will be available to an AI agent,” he says.

He notes that much of professional trading already relies on automation, though these advanced systems have historically been out of reach for retail participants.

Robinhood aims to address this gap by embedding AI-driven decision-making directly into its platform.

The comments align with the company’s wider push into AI-enabled financial services.

In May, Robinhood rolled out new AI tools designed to assist users in purchasing stock options, positioning itself as an early mover in AI-led trading innovation.

How AI can empower everyday traders

The prospect of AI performing complex tasks on behalf of users is widely seen as transformative for the technology sector, with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic competing to develop increasingly capable systems.

Vlad says Robinhood intends to use AI to level the playing field between institutional firms and individual investors.

“I was doing programmatic trading as an institutional player before starting Robinhood, and what you don’t realise is a large portion of trades are already automated and AI powered,” he says.

“But that type of intelligence and complexity has been out of reach from everyday people.

“The end state of agentic trading at Robinhood is to give the everyday person access to the same tools, the same computation, the same power that institutional investors in high-frequency trading firms have been enjoying for several decades.”

Plans for crypto and government collaboration

Elsewhere, Robinhood has confirmed plans to introduce its crypto offering in the UK as part of a broader European expansion.

Earlier in the year, the firm fell short of its first-quarter profit expectations, with crypto-related volatility dampening trading activity.

Conditions have since stabilised, supported by easing conflict in the Middle East and resilient equity markets, which have helped sustain retail trading momentum.

Robinhood has also said it will serve as broker and trustee for President Trump’s proposed tax-advantaged savings accounts for under-18s. The so-called Trump Accounts are scheduled to launch on 4 July.

Vlad describes the initiative as an effort to build “the best consumer product that the government’s ever been associated with”.

The company has also faced internal restructuring, with Robinhood reducing its workforce by 10% – around 290 roles – in a move aimed at simplifying management layers and improving operational efficiency.

Despite these changes, Vlad remains confident about the company’s trajectory.

In a message to employees shared on X, he wrote: “Robinhood’s business has never been stronger.

“We cannot default to operating as a heavily-layered organization. We must be a lean, hyper-focused team.”