Cathie Woods’ ARK makes its first lead investment in startup Lucra — and it isn’t AI

ARK Invest Venture Fund has made its first-ever lead investment in an early-stage startup, backing Lucra with a $20 million Series B. Lucra builds a B2B software platform that transforms corporate loyalty programs into interactive eSports-style events, including tournaments and cash competitions. ARK's decision was notable given its prior bad experience with a similar company, Skillz, and required the startup's CEO to repeatedly convince both ARK's research director and investment committee. Cathie Wood highlighted that the investment reflects ARK's strategy of finding overlooked opportunities outside the crowded AI space, despite the fund also holding stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic, and Replit.