Robinhood valued at $7.6 billion after latest round of funding

Robinhood Markets Inc. has closed a new round of funding valuing the company at $7.6 billion. That's up from its latest $5.6 billion valuation in 2018. The company raised $323 million in the most recent deal. Bloomberg reported in May that Robinhood was seeking to raise money. (More:​ Robinhood Checking and Savings sparks backlash) The jump in valuation comes despite problems last year when the Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup announced a new checking account service. The product, which advertised an enticing 3% interest rate, quickly encountered backlash over whether and how it would be insured. The company was forced to backtrack on its plans to release the service. In a statement Monday announcing the funding, Robinhood outlined several new initiatives it had recently rolled out, including expanded trading of cryptocurrency. The company was founded in 2013, and gained a following with millennial customers in particular by allowing people to trade stocks for free on its mobile app. (More: Robinhood is set to raise at least $200 million in new funding) Robinhood's new funding round was led by existing investor DST Global. Other backers included Ribbit Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital.