Vlad Tenev
Vladimir Tenev | |
|---|---|
Tenev in 2025 | |
| Born | February 13, 1987 Varna, Bulgaria |
| Education | Stanford (BS) UCLA (MS) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | CEO and Co-founder, Robinhood |
| Spouse | Celina Tenev |
| Children | 3 |
Vladimir Tenev (Bulgarian: Владимир Тенев; born 13 February 1987) is an American entrepreneur who is most notably the co-founder (with Baiju Bhatt), Chairman, and CEO of Robinhood, a US-based financial technology services company.
Tenev moved to the United States from his native Bulgaria at the age of five. After studying mathematics at Stanford and UCLA and getting a master's degree, he decided to partner with Baiju Bhatt to create several fintech startups. One of them, Robinhood, became a publicly-traded multibillion-dollar company.
Early life and education
Tenev was born in Varna, Bulgaria.[1] When he was a toddler, his parents migrated to the U.S. leaving him with his grandparents before he joined them when he was five.[2] His parents both worked for the World Bank.[3] He attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology[4] in Fairfax County, Virginia, to which he later donated $125,000.[5]
He earned a bachelor's of science degree in mathematics from Stanford University, where he met Baiju Bhatt.[6] He was a member of a fraternity at Stanford.[7] In 2008, he earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of California in Los Angeles,[8][9] and originally intended to study for a PhD in mathematics at UCLA and pursue a career in academia.[10] He instead dropped out to work with Bhatt.[3][11]
Career
Early career
In 2010, Tenev and Baiju Bhatt started a high-frequency trading software company called Celeris, based in New York.[10][12] By January 2011 they abandoned it to create Chronos Research, which sold low-latency software to other trading firms and banks.[13] Later in 2011, they moved to California.[10]
Robinhood
In 2013, Tenev and Bhatt co-founded the trading platform Robinhood.[6] In 2015, Robinhood launched its mobile app to the public.[14] Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Tenev and Bhatt became billionaires.[6][15]
In November 2020, Tenev became the sole CEO of Robinhood, having previously shared the co-CEO title with Bhatt.[16] The next year, Robinhood debuted on the stock market. The initial public offering (IPO) for the company placed it at a $32 billion valuation.[17]
GameStop short squeeze
During the January 2021 GameStop and AMC Entertainment short squeezes,[18] Robinhood restricted users from buying certain stocks and options,[19] citing an inability to meet federal clearinghouse deposit requirements.[20][21] Tenev publicly defended the decision,[22] which drew backlash from users and politicians who accused the company of protecting institutional investors.[23][24] On February 18, 2021, Tenev testified before the United States House Committee on Financial Services, apologized for the trading halt, and maintained that he had done nothing wrong.[18][25][26]
Sebastian Stan portrayed Tenev in the 2023 film Dumb Money, a drama about the GameStop short squeeze.[27]
Other activities
Tenev co-founded Palo Alto-based artificial intelligence startup Harmonic in 2023, where he is the executive chairman.[28][29] Its aim is to reduce AI hallucinations by generating and checking Lean code,[30] and also to improve AI's mathematical skills.[29]
Awards
| Year | Awards | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Forbes 30 Under 30 | Young Traders | Won | [31] |
| 2022 | Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame | [32] | ||
| 2025 | Fortune 100 Most Powerful People in Business | [33] | ||
| 2025 | Forbes 400 | [34] |
Personal life
Tenev is married to Celina A. Tenev, a co-founder of an emergency health service, Call9.[35] They have three children.[36] Tenev is a fitness enthusiast and credits his training routine with helping him manage stress.[37]
References
- ^ Kolhatkar, Sheelah (May 10, 2021). "Robinhood's Big Gamble". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
- ^ "The founders of Robinhood, a no-fee stock-trading app, were initially rejected by 75 venture capitalists — now their startup is worth $1.3 billion". Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "Vlad Tenev, 28". Forbes. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Thomas Jefferson HS. "Thomas Jefferson HS". Twitter.
- ^ "An Unprecedented Gift to Secure TJ's Bright Future". TJ Partnership Fund.
- ^ a b c "Robinhood Founders Are Billionaires in Silicon Valley Minute". Bloomberg News. May 11, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Constine, Josh (December 11, 2014). "Robinhood Launches Zero-Fee Stock Trading App". TechCrunch.
- ^ Svensson, Philip (September 15, 2025). "Vlad Tenev: Co-founder & CEO of Robinhood". Quartr.
- ^ Santil, Lance (June 17, 2019). "2019 Math Commencement Keynote Speaker: Vladimir Tenev". UCLA Mathematics.
- ^ a b c Raz, Guy (April 12, 2021). "Robinhood: Vlad Tenev". NPR.
- ^ Ongchoco, David (August 12, 2015). "Startup Insider: The Story Behind Stock Trading App Robinhood and Its One Million-Person Waitlist". HuffPost. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Chafkin, Max; Verhage, Julie (February 9, 2018). "Brokerage App Robinhood Thinks Bitcoin Belongs in Your Retirement Plan". Bloomberg.
- ^ "Win the Stock Market with Crowd Sourced Advice from New App Robinhood". April 18, 2013.
- ^ "Online Brokerage Robinhood Will Offer Bitcoin And Ethereum Trading In February". Forbes. January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Meet the 11 new tech billionaires that emerged in 2018". Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ "This app completely disrupted the trading industry". CNN. December 13, 2019.
- ^ "Robinhood valued at $32 billion after selling shares in IPO at $38 per share". CNBC. July 28, 2021.
- ^ a b Popper, Nathaniel; Phillips, Matt (February 18, 2021). "In GameStop Saga, Robinhood Is Cast as the Villain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Says Trading Limits Will Protect Firm, Customers". Bloomberg.com. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy". CNBC. January 28, 2021.
- ^ Collins, Eliza (February 18, 2021). "Who Are Keith Gill and Other Key Players at the GameStop Hearing?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaks out on decision to restrict trading on GameStop and other stocks". CNBC. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Robinhood founder Vlad Tenev says app blocked GameStop buys to "protect investors"". Newsweek. January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Under fire, Robinhood CEO apologizes to Congress for restricting trading". NBC News. February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Kay, Grace. "Robinhood's IPO filing reveals the US Attorney's Office executed a search warrant for CEO Vlad Tenev's cell phone". Business Insider. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (July 1, 2021). "Feds seized Robinhood CEO's phone as part of GameStop trading probe". CNBC. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "'Dumb Money' First Look: The GameStop Stock Frenzy Is Now a Movie". Vanity Fair. June 21, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Victor, John (August 8, 2024). "Sequoia Capital Has Discussed Funding AI Reasoning Startup Cofounded by Robinhood CEO". The Information.
- ^ a b Fried, Ina (June 10, 2024). "Exclusive: Robinhood CEO backs startup to boost AI's math skills". Axios.
- ^ Metz, Cade (September 23, 2024). "Is Math the Path to Chatbots That Don't Make Stuff Up?". The New York Times.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Vardi, Nathan. "30 Under 30 Finance: The Top Young Traders, Bankers And Dealmakers". Forbes. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ "Vlad Tenev". Forbes. March 28, 2022.
- ^ "100 Most Powerful People in Business". Fortune.
- ^ Castellanos, Martina (September 9, 2025). "The 10 Youngest Billionaires On The 2025 Forbes 400 List". Forbes.
- ^ "Call9: Modernizing Emergency Care". Center for Health Technology Hunter College. May 15, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ Roberts, Jeff John; Royle, Oriana Rose (July 30, 2024). "The education of Robinhood's Vlad Tenev". Fortune. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- ^ Gravesq, Ginny (January 24, 2024). "Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Works Out for a Balanced Life". Men's Health.
External links
- Media related to Vladimir Tenev at Wikimedia Commons