Cathie Wood, the CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC, recently announced that her ARK Venture Fund has made an investment in Elon Musk’s startup xAI. This move further solidifies Wood’s commitment to artificial intelligence technologies.
In addition to xAI, ARK Venture Fund has also invested in other AI-related companies such as OpenAI, Figure AI, and Shield AI. This demonstrates Wood’s belief in the potential of AI to revolutionize various industries.
Elon Musk founded xAI as a competitor to Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google’s Alphabet. The startup recently secured $6 billion in series B funding, with a post-money valuation of $24 billion. xAI is planning to develop a supercomputer to enhance its AI chatbot Grok.
Wood has been a vocal advocate for AI, describing it as the most significant catalyst in her disruptive innovation strategy. She sees Tesla, with its robotaxi ambitions, as the biggest AI opportunity globally. Tesla is the largest holding in Wood’s ARK Innovation Fund, accounting for 11.5% of the portfolio.
OpenAI, another company backed by Musk, is considered by Wood to be leading an “explosion” in AI capabilities. This highlights the potential for AI to transform various industries in the coming years.
The ARK Venture Fund, launched in 2022, offers smaller investors the opportunity to access the venture capital market with a minimum investment of $500. While the fund has invested in nearly 50 companies, it does come with a management fee of 2.75%.
Overall, Cathie Wood’s investment in Elon Musk’s xAI underscores the growing importance of artificial intelligence in the world of finance and technology. As these technologies continue to advance, they are likely to have a profound impact on numerous industries, creating new opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs alike.