On Tuesday, Cathie Wood doubled down on artificial intelligence by adding ChatGPT-parent OpenAI to multiple ETFs as the company raised fresh capital.
ARK Invest Adds OpenAI Exposure Across Key ETFs
ARK Invest has added OpenAI to three of its flagship funds — ARKK, ARKW and ARKF — with each ETF allocating roughly 3% to the private AI company.
| ETF | Company | Shares Purchased | % of Total ETF |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARKK | OpenAI Group PBC, Series C | 254,476 | 3.11% |
| ARKW | OpenAI Group PBC, Series C | 62,528 | 2.99% |
| ARKF | OpenAI Group PBC, Series C | 31,991 | 3.01% |
OpenAI Group PBC is the for-profit, public benefit subsidiary of the OpenAI Foundation. It is responsible for the company's AI research, development and products such as ChatGPT.
The move comes as OpenAI announced it closed a $122 billion funding round, pushing its post-money valuation to $852 billion, with backing from investors including Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF) (OTC:SFTBY).
OpenAI CFO Highlights Explosive User Growth And Monetization
Speaking with Wood, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said the company now has around 900 million users, with engagement rising sharply among paying subscribers.
Free users use the product about seven times per day, but when they move to a paid tier, they typically double their usage, Friar said, noting activity can climb to more than 20 daily interactions on higher-tier plans.
She added that OpenAI is focused on converting free users to subscriptions while also exploring ad-supported models.
Enterprise Demand Surges As Developer Ecosystem Expands
Beyond consumers, OpenAI is seeing rapid enterprise adoption through APIs and tools such as Codex, its developer-focused AI agent.
Friar said the number of developers using Codex has surged from about 100,000 at the start of the year to more than 2 million in just a few months.
No Compute, No Revenue: Infrastructure Emerges As Key Constraint
Despite the growth, Friar underscored a critical bottleneck: access to computing power.
"If you do not have it, you do not have revenue," she said, highlighting that securing data center capacity and chips requires long-term planning and massive capital commitments.
She added that the company is making tough trade-offs due to limited computing availability, even as it plans infrastructure needs years into the future.
She named Peter Steinberger, the creator of the AI assistant OpenClaw, who joined OpenAI in February 2026, saying the company is also hiring top researchers and expanding go-to-market teams as essential to sustaining momentum.
OpenAI Broadens Investor Access With ARK ETFs
On Tuesday, OpenAI also moved to broaden investor access ahead of its expected IPO later this year, with plans to include its shares in ARK Invest ETFs, Axios reported.
The company also sold about $3 billion worth of shares to individual investors via a private placement through clients of three major banks. The $3 billion is part of the latest funding round.
CFO Friar told the publication that the move aligns with OpenAI's mission to expand access.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Meir Chaimowitz on Shutterstock.com
Login to comment