Innovate
ARK Invest and spARK Labs to launch early-stage venture fund
The initiative is targeted to launch in the coming weeks.
St. Petersburg-based incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest and investment firm ARK Invest are developing a new early-stage venture fund and angel network.
Becca Brown, CEO and president of spARK Labs by ARK Invest, explained that there is an opportunity to invest in young startups across ARK Invest’s core themes of artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, energy storage and multiomics biology.
The initiative is targeted to launch, she added, in “the coming weeks.”
ARK Invest has operated a later-stage fund, called the ARK Venture Fund, for multiple years. This effort also focuses on disruptive innovation or products and services that could potentially change how the world operates.
According to the organization’s website, the fund “seeks to democratize venture capital, offering all investors access to what we believe are the most innovative companies throughout their private and public market lifecycles.”
Companies within the fund relate to the areas of artificial intelligence and next generation internet, space and defense innovation, autonomous technology and robotics, digital assets and fintech innovation and genomic revolution and biotech.
These include large-scale businesses such as SpaceX and OpenAI (the creator of ChatGPT).
“To now have a vehicle to be able to invest in the earlier stage, as these companies are really innovating and bringing their innovations to market, is strategically important,” Brown explained.
Partners involved in the initiative will be unveiled closer to the launch. She said that the “fund is actively being set up.”
Brown added that the effort could be a “big opportunity” for spARK Labs by ARK Invest member organizations. Over 45 companies operate out of the incubator, which reached office max capacity earlier this year. These include Seagate Space, which designed a rocket launch platform, and Rovex Technologies Corporation, which created a robotic carrier for hospital stretchers.
Founders are able to receive customized one-on-one support. Community activities are another key aspect of the spARK Labs experience. Members can participate in pitch practices, demo their products or services at events and attend weekly brainstorm sessions.
Once known as the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, the incubator was rebranded as spARK Labs by ARK Invest in November 2025. ARK Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood decided to back the local organization after moving her company to St. Petersburg from New York City in 2021.
Brown said the fund could also support other regional organizations. Artificial intelligence has played a role in company growth in the area. She added that one of the “biggest challenges” for early-stage companies is access to capital.
“The angel network and fund address this by expanding the investor ecosystem, educating new angel investors and connecting capital with entrepreneurs,” Brown explained. “By increasing participation in angel investing, we can help founders access the resources they need to grow while strengthening our region’s long-term economic vitality.”
Paul Wilson, ARK Invest chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, added that “exceptional venture outcomes” are often “driven by backing remarkable founders before the broader market fully appreciates their potential.”
