Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says artificial intelligence agents on the trading platform are on track to match nearly everything a human retail investor can do, and that this shift could arrive sooner rather than later.
Tenev Sees AI Closing the Gap With Retail Traders
Speaking with CNBC, Tenev said Robinhood is working to ensure that every capability available to a human trader will eventually be available to an AI agent as well. He pointed to his background in programmatic trading before founding Robinhood, noting that automated, AI-driven systems have powered institutional and high-frequency trading firms for decades. Those tools, he argued, have largely stayed out of reach for everyday investors, and Robinhood’s agentic push is meant to close that gap. Tenev still emphasized that trading retains a human element, with people ultimately making the final calls even as agents take on more of the legwork.
Agentic Products Already Rolling Out
Tenev’s remarks follow Robinhood’s May launch of agentic trading accounts and an agentic credit card, which let AI systems execute trades and make purchases on a customer’s behalf within set budgets. Customers are notified of every agent-driven transaction and can shut an agent down or require manual approval at any time.
The comments come as Robinhood works to rebound from a rocky first quarter. The company posted net income of $346 million on $1.07 billion in revenue for Q1 2026 — both up year-over-year but below Wall Street’s targets — as crypto transaction revenue fell sharply amid a broader digital asset slump. Robinhood now serves nearly 28 million users across 38 countries, even after cutting about 10% of its workforce, roughly 290 employees, last month.