TLDR:
- Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has invested in Elon Musk’s startup xAI, deepening its focus on artificial intelligence.
- The ARK Venture Fund has invested in nearly 50 companies, most of which are private, including xAI, OpenAI, Figure AI, and Shield AI.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has taken a stake in Elon Musk’s startup xAI as she deepens her big bet on artificial intelligence. The ARK Venture Fund has invested in xAI as of Sunday, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based asset manager said in an email to clients. The fund also invests in OpenAI, Figure AI, and Shield AI, among other companies in the industry. The xAI startup is not the only Musk-led company that Wood’s venture fund bets on, as it also holds stakes in Musk’s SpaceX and social media firm X Corp.
The ARK Venture Fund, launched in 2022, allows smaller investors to access the venture capital market with investments starting at $500. The fund has a management fee of 2.75% and has invested in nearly 50 companies, with a focus on private companies. Musk founded xAI as a competitor to OpenAI and Google in the AI space, raising $6 billion in series B funding with a post-money valuation of $24 billion. The startup is planning to build a supercomputer to power its AI chatbot Grok.
Cathie Wood has been bullish on AI, calling it a crucial catalyst in her disruptive innovation strategy. She has highlighted Tesla as the biggest AI opportunity in the world, with the company being the flagship holding in the ARK Innovation Fund. Wood also praised OpenAI for its role in advancing AI capabilities, likening it to a Cambrian explosion.
