CNBC: Maria Sharapova acquired a stake in the Public.com investment platform Former tennis star Maria Sharapova acquired a stake in Public.com investment platform … The platform allows you to buy and sell stocks and cryptocurrencies using a mobile application, and also contains tips on financial literacy, CNBC reports. “I was a very young girl, just a teenager, when I got my first big salary by winning Wimbledon, and to be honest, the financial investment industry was very daunting. I appreciated that Public is user-friendly and offers a simplified self-paced learning curve to make investing less intimidating, ”Sharapova said. At the moment, novice investors make up more than 90 percent of users of the platform, which is a direct competitor to Robinhood, another company popular with private investors. “One of the most important reasons for my investment in Public is the incredible statistic that 40 percent of the app audience is