Fintech startup Robinhood raises fresh funds at $8.3 billion valuation

(Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc said on Monday it has raised $280 million in a funding round that valued the online brokerage at $8.3 billion as it benefits from new signups amid increased market volatility and stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus.

The company, which introduced millennials to equities, options and crypto trading, said the latest round was led by existing investor Sequoia Capital.

Fintech startups have been attracting a flood of investments since last year and the pandemic is accelerating the trend as more customers look to pay without contact and use banking services without stepping into branches.

Last month, fintech startup Stripe, whose products let companies receive online payments and bill customers, raised $600 million valuing it at $36 billion.

Many of these startups were expected to go public this year, but experts tracking initial public offerings believe the COVID-19 pandemic may have forced many to shift their plans to 2021.

Robinhood, founded in 2013, disrupted the discount brokerage space by providing commission-free trading, forcing incumbent retail brokers, such as Charles Schwab Corp, TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, and Fidelity Investments to follow suit.

(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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