Public.com raises $220 million in fresh funding at a $1.2 billion valuation as its rival Robinhood continues on a downward spiral

We covered Public.com late last year after the commission-free stock brokerage startup raised $65 million in Series C funding to help individuals invest and buy stocks in publicly-traded companies with no commission fee.

As retail trading booms, the Online brokerage Public.com and Robinhood competitor, announced Wednesday it had raised $220 million in new funding to add features such as crypto trading, pre-and post-market trading, while also setting up recurring investments for members.

The round, which brings the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion, was led by investors including Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners and Will Smith’s Dreamers VC participated in the latest round.

With rival Robinhood on a self-destructive path, the new funding will give Public.com to corner the market and dominate the retail trading market. Since the social media-driven trading frenzy on Wall Street involving GameStop stocks late last year, investors have doubled down by investing in online brokerages at the center of the trading.

The New York-based Public.com operates a zero-fee trading app that also doubles up as a social media investment community, where its members can own fractional shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, what makes Public.com different is the idea of not just having a brokerage platform but also making the stock market social via its investing social network.

In a tweet, Public.com said it now has one million investors on its platform.

We now have 1 million members in our community of investors.

To support this growth, we've raised an additional $220 million in funding, which allows us to accelerate new product features and invest in our infrastructure.https://t.co/notKTotO8S

— Public (@public) February 17, 2021

Founded in 2018 by Jannick Malling, Matt Kennedy, Peter Quinn, and Sean Hendelman, Public.com is the investing social network where members can own fractional shares of stocks and ETFs, follow popular creators, and share ideas within a community of investors. Public.com makes the stock market an inclusive and educational place, with social features that make it easy to collaborate as you build your confidence as an investor.