Robinhood scores $280 million in Series F fundraise, and it's promising to scale the platform

Equities and crypto brokerage firm Robinhood announced Monday the completion of a $280 million Series F fundraise, following earlier reports on the firm's latest raise via Bloomberg and the Financial Times. 

The fresh capital brings the unicorn's valuation to $8.3 billion, according to an announcement of the raise.

Led by Sequoia Capital, the funding round closed at an active time for U.S. equity and crypto markets. The coronavirus-tied financial and health crisis has translated into unparalleled volatility, which has been a boon for both brokers and exchanges alike. As The Wall Street Journal reported at the end of April, brokers have seen a surge in new accounts and trading activities as new blood enters the market.

Crypto exchanges have also seen a surge in new account sign-ups as volumes in the digital asset market increase on whipsawing prices.

Robinhood, which pioneered zero-commission trades, has had a difficult time navigating the storm by some measures, experiencing a number of technical outages since the beginning of the year. Despite those issues, the firm has brought in more than three million new funded accounts in 2020 and plans to improve its platform to onboard new clients. 

"As more people choose Robinhood, we remain focused on continuously improving the experience we provide," Robinhood said in an announcement. "With this funding, we’ll continue to invest in scaling our platform, building new products, and accelerating build-out of our operations."

The company previously raised $323 million last summer in a round that valued the company at $7.6 billion.