OpenAI has firmly distanced itself from Robinhood's recent tokenization initiative, creating tension between the AI powerhouse and the popular trading platform.
On Wednesday, July 2, OpenAI issued a statement on social media declaring, "These 'OpenAI tokens' are not OpenAI equity. We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it." The company emphasized that any transfer of OpenAI equity requires their explicit approval, which was not granted, and warned users to "please be careful."
The controversy stems from Robinhood's announcement on Monday at a promotional event in Cannes, France, where the company unveiled tokenized shares of private companies, including OpenAI and SpaceX. As part of this launch, Robinhood allocated $1 million worth of OpenAI tokens and $500,000 worth of SpaceX tokens to be distributed to eligible European users who sign up for stock token trading by July 7.
Robinhood defended its offering following OpenAI's statement, explaining that the tokens provide "indirect exposure to private markets" through the company's "ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV)." Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged on Wednesday that while the tokens aren't technically equity, they "effectively give retail investors exposure to these private assets."
The initiative represents Robinhood's first venture into tokenizing private companies, made possible by the EU's more flexible regulatory environment, which lacks the accredited investor restrictions present in the United States. The company is offering over 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to European customers with commission-free trading.
This incident highlights the growing tension between private companies and financial platforms attempting to tokenize private equity without explicit authorization. Private companies typically maintain strict control over how their equity is valued and traded, as demonstrated by OpenAI's swift and strong response to Robinhood's unauthorized tokenization effort.