AI is the biggest catalyst for innovation in tech, argues investor Cathie Wood

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Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood speaks during a panel discussion at the Bitcoin Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, April 7, 2022. Rebecca Blackwell/The Canadian Press

When Cathie Wood looks at the global technology sector, she sees one innovation standing out amid new opportunities arising from its proliferation.

The US tech investment expert said artificial intelligence is the biggest catalyst for innovation happening in five key areas funded by her firm, Ark Invest, with the focus on robotics, energy storage, artificial intelligence itself, blockchain technology and life sciences.

Of course, AI has a role to play — it's its own platform — but it also plays a role in the convergence of technologies like never before, she said.

This convergence is one of the reasons Tesla is the largest position in her investment strategy: Not only is the company getting into self-driving cars and robotics, she believes it will have to dabble in AI.

“We're getting so close to autonomous vehicles that I think people will really have a better understanding of how the physical and digital worlds are converging to create explosive opportunities,” she said.

Woods' optimism about AI was on full display during a recent visit to Toronto, where he was hosted by the Bank of Montreal, which distributes Woods' money in Canada.

It's been a tumultuous few years for Mr. Ark and Mr. Wood. Mr. Wood earned a reputation as a skilled stock picker after his flagship fund soared 150% in 2020, when tech companies such as videoconferencing platform Zoom and video-streaming giant Roku benefited from people spending time at home during coronavirus-related lockdowns. Wood's gains through his New York-based Ark Innovation ETF far outpaced the S&P 500's 16% return at the time.

But as health restrictions were lifted and the tech industry began to face the harsh reality that pandemic-fueled growth projections likely would not materialize, Woods' strategy appeared to backfire: Job cuts continued at major companies including Google, Amazon and Shopify.

Ark Innovation's shares have fallen nearly 68% in 2022 alone, according to data compiled by financial markets data firm LSEG Data & Analytics. Since the start of 2022 to date, they have fallen nearly 53%.

As Wood works to put his fund back on top, the world is excited about AI, as companies rush to incorporate it into their systems and workflows and governments consider how to regulate the potential risks it poses.

AI is still in its early stages, Wood said, comparing the current AI boom to the emergence of the internet in the 1990s.

There was a lot of discussion about regulations at the time, she recalled.

If it were regulated, the media industry wouldn't be what it is today, there would be no Uber, no Airbnb, etc.

When it comes to AI, she said the tech industry is currently focused on tackling the lighter end of things.

U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order requiring AI developers to share safety testing results and other information with the government, while Canada has introduced AI-centric legislation in 2022 but it won't be implemented until at least 2025.

Canada, meanwhile, relies on a voluntary code of conduct, to which IBM, BlackBerry and dozens of other companies have signed up.

As companies deal with potential regulatory scrutiny of AI, Wood said, “Half the solution is understanding the problem, and when companies deploy AI, it usually ends up being mission-critical.”

She feels Canada is well-positioned to navigate the transition to AI because it was built on technology.

First, she said she was impressed with Canada's AI talent.

“A lot of U.S. companies are setting up branches in Canada because there is such a large pool of AI talent here and there is a shortage of talent overseas,” she said.

She believes the tech hub of Waterloo, Ontario, is partly responsible for the country's wealth of talent, but also believes Ottawa-based e-commerce software giant Shopify is also a contributing factor.

The company's flagship AI product is Sidekick, a chatbot its sellers can use to ask questions about their business operations, but the company also offers services that use the technology to draft emails and categorize products.

Wood believes Shopify is forward thinking and moving very quickly when it comes to AI.

When asked why he's confident in the brand despite battling giant Amazon, Wood said the world is becoming social in every way, including commerce, and Shopify is the biggest driver of that.

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