Bloomberg Talks
Ark Investment CEO Cathie Wood Talks H-1B Visas, China Tech Sector, TikTok
Date: September 22, 2025
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Cathie Wood, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Ark Invest
Episode Overview
In this episode, Cathie Wood, founder and leader of Ark Invest, joins Bloomberg to examine a range of pressing topics shaping global technology and finance. The discussion explores the impact of H-1B visa changes, the divergent paths of Chinese and American tech sectors, the competitive future of large language models and artificial intelligence, strategies for Ark’s own ETF success, and the shifting landscape for TikTok and digital assets.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
H-1B Visas and Tech Talent in the US (00:22–03:03)
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New Application Fee & Impact: Cathie Wood suggests the U.S. government’s H-1B visa maneuver is “part of President Trump’s negotiating process,” particularly with India, and likens the strategy to previous tariff headline tactics. Despite the headline noise, she asserts much fundamental progress is occurring in U.S. policy.
“This is a little bit like tariffs and it’s going to capture all the headlines... a lot of really good fundamental activity happening in the United States relating to policy.”
— Cathie Wood (00:40) -
Silicon Valley Innovation & Labor Pool: The host raises concerns over the consequences for American innovation and “mega cap tech stocks” that are dependent on foreign skilled labor.
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Long-term Outlook: Wood anticipates that current restrictions are a negotiating ploy and expects eventual loosening of visa rules.
“When all is said and [done] we’re probably going to loosen up the H1 visa program.”
— Cathie Wood (01:43) -
AI’s Transformative Impact on Coding Jobs: Wood points out the decreasing demand for traditional coding roles due to the rise of AI and natural language programming, suggesting enhanced efficiency may offset pressures on labor markets.
“The number of coding jobs and openings has dropped dramatically because of AI. All of us can become coders...”
— Cathie Wood (02:15)“Generative AI is prompting chatGPT to get your programs going. We can all do that. That’s simplifying it. But I do think it gives you a sense of the kind of productivity that’s possible...”
— Cathie Wood (02:40)
US vs. China Tech Sector & Market Competition (03:03–06:33)
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Chinese Tech Valuation & Strategy: Wood notes Chinese tech stocks are valued at roughly half of their US counterparts. She describes China’s aggressive open-source movement as a reaction to US companies’ retreat over IP theft fears, suggesting that the resulting competition is “a good thing for the United States and for China.”
“We forced them into [the open source route]... and are moving very quickly. I think competition is a good thing.”
— Cathie Wood (03:12) -
Electric Vehicle (EV) Market & Commoditization: She mentions China’s realization that extreme commoditization — especially in EVs — may have gone too far.
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AI Profitability & Market Concentration: Wood observes the field of companies truly competing in the large language model space is shrinking, citing “acqui-hires” by firms like OpenAI and Meta as evidence.
“The number of companies competing, truly competing in the large language model space... has shrunk.”
— Cathie Wood (05:01)- The current AI “big four” are: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Gemini.
- Profitability will hinge on signaling — that companies are willing to pay for these powerful models, citing willingness to pay a spectrum from $20 to $2,000/month per client, depending on use case.
“As long as these companies get that signaling that companies are willing to pay, they will continue to invest in this race.”
— Cathie Wood (06:18)
Ark Investment’s Competitive Edge (06:33–08:49)
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ETF Differentiation: Wood credits Ark’s success to a unique research-sharing approach, describing Ark as “the first sharing economy company in the asset management space” for research.
“We give our research away. We have given our Tesla model away... the open source from that point of view. I think we have a very loud voice out there when it comes to innovation...”
— Cathie Wood (06:45) -
Track Record: She revisits Ark’s early and contrarian bets (Bitcoin, Tesla, Palantir, Coinbase, Nvidia) and expresses pride in their “loud voice” within innovation circles.
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Performance & Flows: Despite Ark’s ~40% gain for the year, flows remain flat, which Wood positions as notable relative to industry-wide outflows. She emphasizes Ark’s rapid growth in Europe, anticipating crossing $1 billion in UK/European AUM soon.
“Most active managers are outflowing today. So the fact that we’re flat is very interesting... we are about to cross $1 billion here in Europe and the UK which... in two years is very significant.”
— Cathie Wood (07:59)
TikTok, US–China Negotiations & Investment Potential (08:49–11:24)
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US–China TikTok Deal: Wood frames the US government’s decision to allocate seven TikTok board seats to Americans as an “idiosyncratic” situation, reflective of the election season and ongoing broader negotiations with China.
“I think this is idiosyncratic... I also think it’s part of a broader negotiation with China. If anyone can re-enact a Nixon in China moment, it is President Trump... Everyone trusts that he will strike a good deal with China.”
— Cathie Wood (09:29) -
Network Effects & ByteDance Risk: Wood notes a persistent investment concern following corporate separations: “does a company lose some of the network effect?” She acknowledges TikTok’s impressive growth and competitive lessons for US firms, referencing Vine as an illustrative failed precursor.
“TikTok has been an amazing company, has taught us a lot... a company called Vine in the US... was not able to activate it in the way TikTok has and TikTok ran away with that.”
— Cathie Wood (10:38) -
Investment Interest: Ark would “have to do a deeper dive” before investing, pending access to more data.
Crypto Outlook (11:24–12:09)
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Digital Assets Stance: Wood reiterates Ark’s continued bullishness on crypto, highlighting Bitcoin’s leadership, Ether’s growth, and the rapid rise of Solana and “Hyper Liquid.” She describes crypto as “three revolutions in one” — monetary, financial services, and immutable digital property rights.
“We’ve been increasing our exposure generally to the digital asset space. I think bitcoin has been the leader, the others are following... This is three revolutions in one: a monetary revolution, financial services revolution, and... digital property rights.”
— Cathie Wood (11:30)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “This is part of President Trump’s negotiating process... It’s going to capture all the headlines and it’s going to really take the oxygen out of the room...” — Cathie Wood (00:40)
- “The number of coding jobs and openings has dropped dramatically because of AI. All of us can become coders.” — Cathie Wood (02:15)
- “We forced them into [open source]... China is very focused on the open source software movement. I think competition is a good thing.” — Cathie Wood (03:12)
- “The number of companies competing, truly competing in the large language model space... has shrunk.” — Cathie Wood (05:01)
- “We give our research away... the open source from that point of view.” — Cathie Wood (06:45)
- “TikTok... has taught us a lot. This is what I mean about Chinese competition... TikTok ran away with that.” — Cathie Wood (10:38)
- “We think [crypto] is three revolutions in one... only possible because of blockchain technology.” — Cathie Wood (11:30)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:22: Cathie Wood on H-1B visas and Trump administration strategy
- 01:43: Impact of AI on coding jobs and innovation
- 03:12: Chinese tech sector, open source, and competition
- 05:01: AI consolidation, large language model competition
- 06:45: Ark’s research-sharing strategy and innovation bets
- 07:59: Asset flows and European expansion
- 09:29: TikTok board shakeup, US-China negotiations
- 10:38: TikTok’s competitive impact; Vine comparison
- 11:30: Ark’s stance on bitcoin, ether, and new crypto entrants
Episode Takeaway
Cathie Wood delivers candid, strategic views on how shifting US immigration policy, AI disruption, China–US tech dynamics, competition in the ETF arena, and digital asset innovation are transforming the investment landscape. The episode offers a robust snapshot of Wood’s perspective as both a disruptor and close watcher of global capital flows — with pointed insights for the future of technology and markets.