SpaceX IPO Listing: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Buys 3.3 Million Shares In Massive Bet

Cathie Wood has increased her SpaceX position again, with ARK Invest buying a further 3.29 million shares of Elon Musk’s space and satellite company. According to a report from Crypto Briefing, the latest purchase further cements SpaceX as the biggest holding in the ARK Venture Fund. It’s a critical time for SpaceX. SpaceX has pulled off the biggest IPO in history, raising $75 billion and smashing the previous record set by Saudi Aramco. The space company founded by Elon Musk launched on the public markets on June 12, 2026, with an initial valuation of $1.77 trillion. Shares soared nearly 20% in their first day of trading, adding more than $2 trillion to SpaceX’s market capitalisation and marking the biggest market debut ever. The company confidentially filed a draft S-1 with US regulators on April 1, clearing the way for a long-awaited stock market debut.

As of May 31, SpaceX already accounted for 11.38% of the net assets of the ARK Venture Fund. Earlier in the year, it was over 17%. This could be because ARK rebalanced the fund or because its other investments grew faster. ARK started investing in SpaceX in late 2023 at a valuation of sub-$200 billion and has been building its position incrementally since, including adding to the position after the SpaceX-xAI merger in 2026. The company is worth $350 billion as of 2024 and its valuation has only continued to climb since then. Among other benefits, one aspect of the ARK Venture Fund is providing access to the private companies that the average investor typically cannot access. 

Historically, only large institutions, pension funds and wealthy investors have invested in SpaceX and other companies. Retail investors gain exposure to that space with ARKVX. But private market investments are not without risk.

What Makes SpaceX IPO Stand Out?

Few public offerings have generated as much anticipation as the proposed IPO of SpaceX. SpaceX landed in the US markets, worth over $2 trillion, as CEO Elon Musk became the first trillionaire in the world.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX debuted on Nasdaq and opened at $150 a share under ticker symbol SPCX. Investors were very keen to buy into the stock which opened at $135 in its initial public offering (IPO). By the opening hours of trading, it had increased by over 20% to just below $160. At the end of the day, the stock had increased by almost 19% compared to its IPO. SpaceX’s valuation was then over $2 trillion. This made it the 6th biggest company in the USA, ahead of Broadcom, Tesla, Meta and Saudi Aramco (globally).

Also Read: How Big Is SpaceX Now? Elon Musk’s Firm Overtakes Broadcom, Saudi Aramco, Tesla, Meta After Record IPO

ARK remains optimistic about the future of the company. The base-case estimate of the firm indicates SpaceX could be worth about $2.5 trillion by 2030. At its most optimistic, that number is closer to $3.1 trillion, and even at its most conservative, the figure is just shy of $1.7 trillion.

What Investors Should Be Aware Of

The size of ARK’s SpaceX holding emphasises both the opportunity and the risk. A successful IPO could significantly increase the fund’s net asset value. But any disappointment in the listing or in the market valuation could have a noticeable effect on fund performance.

Investors also should remember that private-market investments don’t function like publicly traded stocks. Share prices are determined by negotiated transactions and not by continuous trading on the market, so valuations are less clear and liquidity is more restricted.

At a higher level, ARK’s increasing stake in SpaceX is part of a larger trend in investing. A growing number of fund managers are looking to give retail investors access to private companies before they go public, when some of the biggest gains are often made. The argument is supported by the rise of SpaceX from a valuation under $200 billion to one worth more than $2 trillion, but private market investing still has risks, including limited liquidity and valuation uncertainty.