ARK Invest Acquires $444M SpaceX Stake on IPO Day, Exits AMD and Rocket Lab Positions

Key Takeaways

• ARK Invest acquired 3.29 million SpaceX shares valued at $444M during the company’s Nasdaq launch
• The SpaceX public debut generated $75 billion, setting a new record for the largest IPO ever
• ARK liquidated $39.3M worth of Advanced Micro Devices stock across three ETFs simultaneously
• ARK reduced holdings in Rocket Lab — a company SpaceX identified as a competitive rival in regulatory filings
• The acquisition came after ARK divested positions in 20 firms totaling $222.87M one day earlier

On Friday, June 13, 2026, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest executed a substantial strategic investment. The investment management firm acquired 3,291,184 SpaceX shares distributed across four exchange-traded funds, coinciding with the aerospace company’s historic Nasdaq listing.

The aggregate investment reached $444,309,840, allocated among the ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Autonomous Technology and Robotics ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, and ARK Space Exploration and Innovation ETF.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SPCX

Prior to going public, SpaceX represented ARK’s most significant position in its Venture Fund, accounting for more than 11% of net assets — surpassing both OpenAI and Anthropic.

ARK initially backed SpaceX through its Venture Fund in late 2023, when the aerospace manufacturer was valued under $200 billion. The company now commands a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion.

Historic Public Market Debut

The SpaceX IPO generated $75 billion through the distribution of 555.6 million shares, establishing it as the most substantial initial public offering on record.

Within ARKX, the SpaceX allocation immediately became a top-tier holding, constituting 6.89% of the fund’s composition.

ARK has consistently championed SpaceX’s business approach. “The company’s ability to re-use rockets results in structurally lower launch costs than competitors that will prove difficult to match,” the firm articulated in its investment rationale.

Portfolio Rebalancing: AMD and Rocket Lab Exit

To accommodate the SpaceX investment, ARK executed divestitures across numerous portfolio companies.

Concurrent with the SpaceX acquisition, ARK divested 80,536 shares of Advanced Micro Devices distributed across ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX ETFs. The transaction yielded $39,337,809.

ARK simultaneously reduced its Rocket Lab exposure across ARKQ and ARKX, generating $5,824,625 from the sale.

The Rocket Lab divestiture timing proved noteworthy. SpaceX explicitly identified Rocket Lab as a competitive threat in its S-1 registration, characterizing it as a firm transitioning from small-lift capabilities into medium-lift payload services.

The preceding day, ARK had liquidated stakes in 20 separate entities worth $222.87 million. Teradyne represented the largest disposal at $76.6 million. Twist Bioscience, Iridium Communications, and Robinhood Markets were additionally reduced, combining for $64.2 million.

Further divestitures encompassed Tesla, Baidu, Roku, CrowdStrike, Cloudflare, and Veracyte holdings.

ARK disposed of 98,835 Roku shares for $11,824,619 and 39,850 Tesla shares valued at $15,906,127.

The consecutive two-day liquidation campaign created capacity throughout ARK’s ETF suite for the SpaceX allocation, which now ranks among the firm’s most substantial publicly traded equity positions.

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