St. Petersburg’s startup scene just got a very Cathie Wood-sized vote of confidence: ARK Invest has backed Plato, a local “venture factory” that builds companies instead of betting on just one. It marks the first time Wood’s firm has backed a Tampa Bay startup, putting a national name behind a model that is still unusual even in startup land.
As first reported by The Tampa Bay Business Journal, Plato is led by CEO Dillon Auxier and President JC Cornell and operates from St. Petersburg. Rather than presenting itself as a single-product startup, the company is positioning itself as a repeatable engine for creating and funding new businesses.
Plato Wants To Build Companies, Not Just Products
JC Cornell describes Plato as an AI venture studio that builds software companies for middle-market businesses, according to his official website. The distinction matters: A conventional startup usually raises money around one product, while a venture studio can provide the people, technology and capital to launch multiple companies under one operating model.
That structure appears to be what attracted ARK. Cornell told the Business Journal, “We love this idea of industry experts being who we build around,” adding that Wood was an especially strong fit because of her technology-focused investment thesis. He also said Plato could have raised more money but chose to work with Wood’s firm.
Why ARK’s Backing Carries Extra Weight In St. Pete
ARK’s public materials describe the ARK Venture Fund as a vehicle that invests in private, early-stage companies tied to disruptive innovation, while warning that such investments carry significant risk. The Plato deal therefore gives the St. Pete company more than a local endorsement: It places the venture factory inside the orbit of a firm built around identifying emerging technology bets.
Wood has been steadily building that orbit in St. Petersburg since moving ARK Invest’s headquarters from New York City in 2021. St. Pete Catalyst reported this year that Wood has framed the city as a place where she and her team could help build a larger innovation community over time.
The infrastructure around that vision is growing, too. A Pinellas County economic-development report listed Plato Studio as a large-office member of the ARK Innovation Center and said the center had recruited 30 members during its 2025 reporting period. Earlier this year, Hoodline reported that the ARK-backed spARK Labs incubator had reached 45 startups and developed a waitlist.
For Plato, the immediate win is capital and a marquee partner. For St. Petersburg, the bigger test will be whether this venture-factory model can turn the city’s growing innovation infrastructure into a pipeline of durable companies, not just another round of glossy startup headlines.
