Robinhood Co-Founder Steps Down From CEO Position

Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt has stepped down as the company’s CEO.

What Happened: Fortune reported that Vlad Tenev, the company’s co-founder, is now Robinhood’s single CEO. Bhatt is stepping down from what used to be a dual CEO position but remains the co-founder and will focus more on product development.

"Today, Robinhood co-founders Baiju Bhatt and Vlad Tenev shared with our employees that Vlad will assume the role of sole CEO. Baiju will continue in his role as co-founder, supporting key business initiatives and serving on Robinhood's board of directors," a Robinhood spokesperson told Fortune.

The move is said to have come about because the company has found the dual-CEO structure to be inefficient as the company grows.

According to the sources cited by Fortune, there was no tension between the co-founders over this decision, and the two remain close friends.

Index Ventures’ Jan Hammer, the company’s lead investor, has expressed optimism about Tenev taking over.

"Vlad's leadership has been instrumental to Robinhood's success in reaching an incredible scale. I'm confident that Robinhood will continue to lead in building innovative products and serving customers as the company moves into its next phase of growth," Fortune quoted Hammer as saying.

Why It Matters: The trading platform is popular among new, young investors and is considering going public in 2021, according to Bloomberg.

The company has recently raised $660 million at a $1.7 billion evaluation.

Although it has been going exceptionally well for Robinhood, there have been some bumps along the way.

Robinhood has been criticized for allowing "reckless trading" and serving as a "casino" for its users, the New York Times has reported.

In June, a 20-year-old trader took his own life, believing he was $730,000 in debt on the platform, which he cited in a suicide note that his brother shared.
Image: Robinhood