ARK Investment Management founder and CEO Cathie Wood believes innovation is fundamental to national, regional and local growth.
The impact of technology took center stage at the ARK Big Ideas Summit, hosted Thursday by incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest, at the ARK Innovation Center, in St. Petersburg.
Artificial intelligence was a key theme.
The daylong event featured multiple panel discussions, an innovation showcase and networking opportunities for local business leaders, investors and community members.
Wood joined Target Corporation executive chairman and former CEO Brian Cornell, Tampa General Hospital president and CEO John Couris and Palantir head of commercial Ted Mabrey for a conversation on the future of innovation.
Healthcare is a particular industry that could benefit from local collaboration. The Tampa Bay area is home to systems such as BayCare, Tampa General Hospital, Orlando Health and Moffitt Cancer Center. All of these organizations have an “innovation bias,” Wood explained.
“We could really be the leader in transforming the world from sick care to health care,” she said.
Couris emphasized the importance of innovation and how it plays a role in Tampa General Hospital’s operations.
The organization has partnered with software and analytics company Palantir to develop a Care Coordination Operating System, which utilizes artificial intelligence to assist staff members. The creation of a Sepsis Hub, he said, has helped save hundreds of lives.
“We need more folks that are investors in private equity and venture capital,” Couris added. “We need more entrepreneurs to help us out of this morass that we’re in as an industry in the country.”
Artificial intelligence platforms do not have to replace jobs, he argued. These tools can make “the people in the system better and more resilient and more highly reliable.” They improve quality, lower cost and create “real value for patients and the physicians and nurses treating those patients.”
Mabrey explained that the TGH partnership has shown an “optimistic idea of what AI is going to mean for us in our everyday lives.” There’s so “much doom and gloom.”
Cornell, who served as Target’s CEO from 2014 to 2026, is currently mentoring startup founders at spARK Labs by ARK Invest.
He explained that “big ideas” can inspire successful and sustainable businesses. Strategies and teams are key to growth and longevity. Cornell also believes that AI can have a positive benefit.
Companies that use the tool are “going to become more productive” and “more efficient.” He added that leadership will be able to “make better decisions” and “drive more growth.” AI can also help develop “new jobs.”
Cornell said that he is an “optimist,” even with respect to the retail sector. Target employs over 400,000 people across the country. While jobs will “evolve,” he believes they will “get better” and become more “enjoyable.”
“We’re all going to step back and become students again,” Cornell explained. “We have to recognize that there’s a new education in front of us and you have to embrace how those tools are going to change your lives and how you work.”
There has been a “entrepreneurial explosion” recently, Wood said. She encouraged young people who are currently seeking job opportunities to create their own companies with a focus on AI. This can not only provide invaluable experience, but also foster technological growth.
“From the top down, we want AI,” Wood explained. “We know we should have a sense of urgency. We need to have the expertise that’s actually coming in the door.”
Wood is a partner in the ARK Ellison Horus Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment proposal, which features incubators, research space and startup pipelines designed to encourage company growth in the area.
She explained that spARK Labs by ARK Invest has been a “launching pad.” The Gas Plant District “could be a real platform for innovation.”
ARK Invest research team panel
Members of ARK Invest’s research team outlined the company’s 2026 Big Ideas report, which discusses trends and growth within the themes of artificial intelligence, autonomous tech, robotics and energy, multiomics and biotech, space and defense and blockchain and fintech.
Frank Downing, director of research for AI and cloud, explained that AI is a “generational shift in computing.” People can now control computers by using natural language and the software can complete work independently.
AI is being adapted very quickly by individuals and companies, he added. The shift is also “accelerating and not slowing down.” Additionally, AI models are becoming more “useful” and can perform tasks that take humans hours to complete.
There is also a noticeable cost decline for the technology, Downing said. This has allowed AI to “scale.” More importantly, there has been a positive return on investment for consumers.
Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, the four largest organizations investing in AI, are “collectively forecasted to spend over $700 billion this year” on the platform.
Research analyst Daniel Maguire said that the ARK Invest team believes that the autonomous logistics industry, including drones and rolling robots, could approach a “$500 billion revenue opportunity” by the end of the decade.
AI can have a profound impact on biology, multiomics research analyst Shea Wihlborg added.
“When you have more and richer data, it’s powering better models,” she said. “In turn, those better models power better tools, tests and treatments.”
Cost decline has resulted in an increase in test volumes, Wihlborg explained. This has led to more data to help treat and cure illnesses. Extending the human lifespan and the quality of life in the U.S., the ARK Invest team believes, is a $1.2 quadrillion opportunity.