From Yahoo Finance: 2025-04-01 11:03:00

Cathie Wood of Ark Investment Management buys $12 million shares of a Chinese tech stock last week, focusing on opportunities outside the U.S. Wood’s flagship fund, Ark Innovation ETF, is down 17.41% year-to-date, with differing opinions on Wood’s performance and investment strategy.

Wood expresses optimism about looser regulations under Trump’s presidency, contrasting with investors’ lack of confidence shown by a net outflow of $2.44 billion in Ark Innovation ETF over the past year. Wood also recently bought shares of Baidu Inc, valued at $11.9 million, a company making advancements in AI and autonomous mobility.

Wood’s relationship with Chinese stocks has been a rollercoaster, with bold bets and retreats, including stakes in Baidu, Tencent, and JD.com. Despite setbacks due to Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on tech firms in 2021, Wood recently reentered the Chinese market with a purchase of Baidu shares after completely exiting in 2022.

Wood highlights Baidu CEO Robin Li’s efforts to grow the self-driving business, emphasizing the potential for autonomous mobility to scale globally to an $8 to $10 trillion market in the next 5 to 10 years. Baidu stock is up 11.28% year-to-date, signaling optimism for future growth in the autonomous mobility sector.

Read more: Cathie Wood buys $12 million of surging China tech stock