--- title: "Cathie Wood's ARK Is Quietly Building an AI Picks-and-Shovels Portfolio" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296250494.md" description: "Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is shifting its AI strategy from software applications to infrastructure, building a 'picks-and-shovels' portfolio. Recent trades show significant purchases of Nvidia, Cerebras, CoreWeave, and Cloudflare, while trimming positions in software firms like Palantir and Roblox. This aligns with ARK's research predicting a multi-year AI infrastructure buildout, focusing on compute chips, cloud capacity, and network layers rather than end-user applications." datetime: "2026-08-18T15:42:51.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296250494.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296250494.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296250494.md) --- # Cathie Wood's ARK Is Quietly Building an AI Picks-and-Shovels Portfolio **Cathie Wood’s** **ARK Invest** is increasingly shifting its AI exposure away from application-layer software and toward the infrastructure required to power artificial intelligence at scale. The pattern is visible across its actively managed ETFs, where recent buying has concentrated in **Nvidia Corp** (NASDAQ:NVDA), **Cerebras Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CBRS)**, **CoreWeave Inc** (NASDAQ:CRWV) and **Cloudflare Inc** (NYSE:NET), while positions in software and consumer-facing tech names such as **Roblox Corp** (NYSE:RBLX), **Palantir Technologies Inc** (NASDAQ:PLTR) and **Snowflake Inc** (NYSE:SNOW) have been trimmed. Taken together, the trades suggest ARK is effectively assembling an AI "picks-and-shovels" portfolio spanning chips, cloud compute and network infrastructure — even if no single ETF is explicitly labeled as such. ### Nvidia Anchors the Strategy The most visible piece of the shift came Monday, when ARK bought Nvidia across five ETFs — **ARK Innovation ETF** (BATS:ARKK), **ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF** (BATS:ARKF), **ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF** (BATS:ARKQ), **ARK Next Generation Internet ETF** (BATS:ARKW) and **ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF** (BATS:ARKX). The largest purchase was 101,356 shares through ARKK, worth roughly $22.8 million based on Nvidia’s $225.01 closing price. The repeated exposure across multiple funds underscores Nvidia’s role as a core holding in ARK’s AI thesis rather than a tactical trade. But Nvidia is only the starting point. ### Expanding Beyond a Single Chip Leader ARK has recently broadened its exposure to alternative compute and infrastructure providers. On Aug. 13, the firm bought 106,941 shares of Cerebras Systems, worth about $28 million across ARKK and ARKW. The purchase came after a post-earnings pullback in the stock. Cerebras is notable because it represents a different approach to AI compute than Nvidia’s GPU dominance. The company recently raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $880 million–$890 million and expects revenue to more than triple by 2027, driven in part by expansion of its AI cloud business. ARK has also been accumulating CoreWeave, the AI-focused cloud infrastructure provider, alongside Cloudflare, which operates at the network and edge-compute layer. CoreWeave reported $2.58 billion in second-quarter revenue, up more than 100% year over year, and ended the quarter with a $104 billion backlog — a signal of sustained demand for AI compute capacity. The result is a layered exposure across the AI stack: Nvidia and Cerebras for compute, CoreWeave for cloud infrastructure, and Cloudflare for network delivery. ### A Strategy Aligned With ARK’s Own Research The shift is not happening in isolation. It closely mirrors ARK’s published long-term research. In its _Big Ideas 2026_ report, ARK argues that AI is triggering a multi-year infrastructure buildout, driven by surging data-center investment and the increasing specialization of compute hardware. The firm also projects Nvidia’s annual revenue could rise from $216 billion in 2025 to roughly $350 billion in 2026. That framing makes recent trading activity look less like opportunistic stock picking and more like implementation of a defined thematic roadmap. ### Software Out, Infrastructure In The other side of the trade is equally important. ARK has been reducing exposure to names such as Roblox, Palantir and Snowflake — companies more closely associated with AI applications, software platforms and data analytics. Monday’s activity reinforced that trend, with ARK trimming 22,023 shares of Palantir worth roughly $3.8 million. The firm also sold 25,917 shares of AMD valued at about $13.1 million — not a software position, but a sign ARK is picking among chipmakers rather than buying compute across the board. The signal is not necessarily a bearish view on AI software. Instead, it suggests ARK may see a more attractive risk-reward profile in the infrastructure layer that enables AI systems to scale. **Read Also: Cathie Wood Scoops $16 Million of Broadcom Ahead of a Crucial AI Earnings Test** _Photo: Shutterstock_ ### Related Stocks - [RBLX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RBLX.US.md) - [PLTR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTR.US.md) - [CRWV.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRWV.US.md) - [NET.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NET.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [CBRS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBRS.US.md) - [NVDS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDS.US.md) - [NVDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDU.US.md) - [PLTU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTU.US.md) - [PLTG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTG.US.md) - [PLTD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTD.US.md) - [NVDD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDD.US.md) - [RBLU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RBLU.US.md) - [RBLY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RBLY.US.md) - [NVD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVD.US.md) - [NVDX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDX.US.md) - [NVDQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDQ.US.md) - [NVDY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDY.US.md) - [PLTW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTW.US.md) - [NVDL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDL.US.md) - [PLT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLT.US.md) - [PLTZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTZ.US.md) - [07788.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07788.HK.md) - [07388.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07388.HK.md) - [ARKK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKK.US.md) - [PLOO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLOO.US.md) - [PLTA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTA.US.md) - [PLTY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLTY.US.md) - [PLYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLYY.US.md) - [PTIR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PTIR.US.md) - [CORD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CORD.US.md) - [CRWG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRWG.US.md) - [CRWU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRWU.US.md) - [CWVX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CWVX.US.md) - [CWY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CWY.US.md) - [NVDB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDB.US.md) - [NVDG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDG.US.md) - [NVDO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDO.US.md) - [NVDW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDW.US.md) - [NVYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVYY.US.md) - [NYYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NYYY.US.md) - [DIPS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DIPS.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [CBRX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBRX.US.md) - [CBRG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBRG.US.md) - [CBRZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBRZ.US.md) - [SMH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMH.US.md) - [SOXX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXX.US.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) - [SOXQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXQ.US.md) - [XSD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSD.US.md) - [PSI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PSI.US.md) - [FTXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FTXL.US.md) - [09388.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09388.HK.md) - [SARK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SARK.US.md) - [TARK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TARK.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [AI weekly: Nvidia does deal with Wall Street, China's AI weather forecasts](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295777975.md) - [What Nvidia's $500 billion Wall Street deal signals about the AI boom](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296063112.md) - [Nvidia Will Report Q2 Earnings on August 26. 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