ARK Invest
Privately held US investment adviser founded in 2014 by Cathie Wood, offering actively managed ETFs and strategies in technology themes. It bought Rize ETF in 2023 to start ARK Invest Europe.
Industry: Thematic investment management | Location: St. Petersburg, United States | Founded: 2014
About ARK Invest
ARK Invest is the trading name of ARK Investment Management LLC, a United States investment adviser that specialises in thematic investing in what it calls disruptive innovation. In a September 2023 release the firm described itself as a federally registered, privately held investment adviser and named robotics, energy storage, multiomic sequencing, artificial intelligence and blockchain among its focus areas. That release carried a St. Petersburg, Florida dateline, and Wikipedia says the firm moved there from New York City in October 2021.
ARK was founded in 2014 by Cathie Wood, who is its founder, chief executive and chief investment officer. According to Wikipedia, she left AllianceBernstein, where she was chief investment officer of global thematic strategies, after the firm judged her idea for actively managed, innovation-focused ETFs too risky, and ARK launched its first four funds in October 2014.
ARK's 2023 release lists strategies including Autonomous Technology and Robotics, Next Generation Internet, Genomic Revolution, Fintech Innovation, Space Exploration and Innovation, 3D Printing and Venture Capital. Wikipedia adds that the ARK Innovation ETF became the largest actively managed ETF in December 2020 and that the ARK Venture Fund launched in September 2022.
The 2023 release says ARK is minority-owned by Nikko Asset Management. Wikipedia reports that Nikko took a 15 percent stake in 2017 and that Wood holds about half of the firm.
On 19 September 2023 ARK acquired Rize ETF Limited, which it called Europe's first specialist thematic ETF issuer, from the British group AssetCo. Rize had USD 452 million across 11 Dublin-domiciled ETFs at the end of August 2023. It became ARK Invest Europe, a division of ARK Invest Limited, so that ARK could offer its strategies under the European UCITS framework. ARK put its own assets at about USD 25 billion at that date.
TechScoop reported in May 2026 that ARK Invest was among the investors in prediction market Kalshi's USD 1 billion Series F, led by Coatue, without disclosing ARK's stake. Wikipedia's infobox gives ARK's assets under management as about USD 30 billion, citing Morningstar in May 2026.
Leadership
- Cathie Wood, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer