Cathie Wood's ARK makes first Tampa Bay bet on AI venture factory Plato

What's the deal? ARK InvestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has backed Plato Industries, a St. Petersburg AI venture studio that builds companies rather than betting on a single product. It marks the first time Cathie WoodDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s firm has funded a Tampa Bay startup.

What's the endgame? Plato, led by chief executive officer Dillon Auxier and president JC Cornell, positions itself as a repeatable engine for creating and funding new businesses. Cornell describes it as an AI venture studio building software companies for middle-market businesses — providing people, technology, and capital to launch multiple companies under one model.

Why ARK? That structure appears to be what drew the firm. "We love this idea of industry experts being who we build around," Cornell told the Tampa Bay Business Journal, adding that Wood was a strong fit for her technology-focused thesis. He said Plato could have raised more but chose to work with ARK.

Why now? Wood has been building an innovation base in St. Petersburg since moving ARK's headquarters there from New York City in 2021. Plato Industries is listed as a large-office member of the ARK Innovation Center, which recruited 30 members during its 2025 reporting period; the ARK-backed spARK LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → incubator has reached 45 startups and a waitlist.

What could go wrong? ARK's own materials warn that its venture fund invests in private, early-stage companies tied to disruptive innovation and carry significant risk. The venture-studio model itself remains unusual, and turning multiple companies into durable businesses is unproven.

The signal: For Plato, the win is capital and a marquee partner. For St. Petersburg, the bigger test is whether this model can convert growing local infrastructure into a pipeline of lasting companies — not just another round of startup headlines.

Read more: Hoodline