Via ark-invest.com
Cathie Wood's firm adds a research associate focused on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and chips as it doubles down on disruptive tech themes
ARK Invest has brought on Matt Arkin as a research associate covering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and semiconductors. The hire signals the firm’s continued push to beef up its analytical firepower in the sectors it considers most central to the next wave of technological disruption.
The AI infrastructure buildout is turning into one of the largest capital expenditure cycles in tech history. ARK’s own research from March 2026 analyzed the demand trajectory for AI infrastructure, pointing to strong growth across hardware, software, and custom silicon.
Cloud providers’ capital expenditure guidance for 2026 exceeds $600 billion, according to ARK’s projections. That’s a staggering number, roughly equivalent to the entire GDP of Sweden, and it reflects the sheer scale of investment flowing into data centers, networking equipment, and specialized chips designed to train and run AI models.
ARK’s March research piece highlighted collaboration with technology leaders like Broadcom and TSMC as key nodes in the AI supply chain, with custom silicon emerging as a particularly important growth vector. The shift from general-purpose chips to application-specific AI accelerators is reshaping the competitive landscape among semiconductor companies, and understanding those shifts early has been central to ARK’s investment thesis.
ARK Invest has always positioned itself as a research-first shop. The firm’s open-source research model, where it publishes analyses and projections publicly, has become one of its defining characteristics.
The firm’s current research agenda points toward significant performance improvements and supply chain optimization extending through at least 2030, particularly across AI hardware, software, and cloud services.
Adding research capacity in these areas could lead to more refined positioning across ARK’s suite of ETFs. The firm’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) both have significant exposure to companies riding the AI and cloud computing wave.
ARK’s research has already flagged the growing importance of custom silicon, chips designed by cloud providers themselves rather than purchased off the shelf from traditional chipmakers. Companies like Broadcom, which designs custom AI accelerators for hyperscalers, and TSMC, which manufactures the most advanced chips in the world, sit at the center of this trend.
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