Cathie Wood's ARK Invest made a bold pivot in the semiconductor sector this week, selling shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) at record highs while building a new stake in AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems (CBRS) following its explosive Nasdaq debut. The moves, disclosed in ARK's daily trading updates, signal a major shift in how the famed investor is positioning for the next phase of the AI chip boom.
On May 14, the same day Cerebras began trading on the Nasdaq, ARK's flagship Innovation ETF (ARKK) and Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) snapped up 105,616 shares of the AI chip company — a stake worth approximately $32.8 million at the closing price. At the same time, ARK trimmed 41,540 shares of TSMC, generating roughly $16.6 million in proceeds, and also sold additional shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
How Cerebras Pulled Off the Biggest IPO of 2026
Cerebras priced its initial public offering at $185 per share on Wednesday evening, well above its initial range of $115 to $125 and even above the raised range of $150 to $160. The company sold 30 million shares, raising $5.55 billion in what is by far the largest U.S. tech IPO of 2026. The offering was reportedly oversubscribed by more than 20 times.
When trading opened on Thursday, CBRS shares shot as high as $386 before closing at $311.07 — a 68% gain from the IPO price. The first-day surge pushed Cerebras' market capitalization to approximately $95 billion. The stock gained an additional 6% in after-hours trading heading into Friday.
"The strong IPO demand and first-day rally highlight the intense investor appetite for AI hardware firms," wrote Yuvraj Malik of Stocktwits, noting that the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has gained 75% year-to-date.
Timeline: How Cathie Wood Reshuffled Her Semiconductor Portfolio
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 — Cerebras prices its IPO at $185 per share, raising $5.55 billion. ARK's daily trades show no activity in the stock yet.
Thursday, May 14, 2026 — CBRS begins trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker CBRS. The stock opens at $350, triggers a volatility halt, and closes at $311.07. ARK publishes its trading update showing it bought 105,616 shares of Cerebras while selling 41,540 shares of TSMC at record-high prices ($16.6M) and trimming AMD — all in the same day.
Friday, May 15, 2026 — ARK continues the trend, selling additional AMD shares and buying more Cerebras shares according to the daily trading update, as reported by Investing.com.
The timing is notable: Wood sold TSMC just as it touched all-time highs, a classic "sell high" move, while simultaneously buying into Cerebras on its very first day of public trading — even after the stock had already surged 68%.
Why Cerebras Matters: The Bigger Picture for AI Investors
Cerebras is no ordinary chip startup. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the company develops massive AI chips and supercomputers designed to train and run artificial intelligence models much faster than traditional GPUs. The company's core product — the Wafer-Scale Engine — is the largest computer chip ever built, and it positions Cerebras as a genuine challenger to Nvidia's dominance in AI hardware.
The numbers back up the hype. Cerebras generated $510 million in revenue in 2025, up 76% from $290.3 million in 2024 and a staggering jump from just $24.6 million in 2022. Even more impressive, the company swung to a net profit of $87.9 million in 2025, compared to a net loss of $484.8 million the prior year.
"Cerebras' growth is real," noted analysts covering the IPO.
The company has also secured partnerships with major tech players. Earlier this year, Cerebras signed a deal to integrate its technology into OpenAI's compute systems. Other customers listed on its website include Meta, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and IBM.
What Wood's Move Signals for the Semiconductor Sector
ARK's simultaneous selling of TSMC and buying of Cerebras represents more than just portfolio rebalancing — it reflects a bet that the next wave of AI growth will be driven by specialized, high-performance chip architectures rather than the established players.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has been a core holding in many ARK funds. But the stock has already had a massive run, and Wood appears to be taking profits at precisely the right moment. Intel, AMD, and Micron have all notched triple-digit gains this year alone.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for CBRS hit 'extremely bullish' (100/100) levels, though some traders expressed caution about valuation. One trader noted: "CBRS honestly surprised this has held as well as it did today. No position still but patiently waiting for an entry."
Where Things Stand Now
Cerebras stock settled at $311.07 after its first day, valuing the company at roughly $95 billion. The stock edged lower on Friday, closing down roughly 10% as some early investors took profits, but remains well above its $185 IPO price.
ARK continues to hold its newly acquired Cerebras position while reducing its exposure to TSMC and AMD. The $32.8 million stake in CBRS represents a relatively small position for ARKK (which has over $20 billion in assets under management), but the symbolic importance of Wood buying on day one should not be underestimated.
"We are seeing a transfer of leadership in the AI chip space," wrote analysts at AInvest. "ARK's shift from TSMC to Cerebras signals where the growth opportunities lie."
What Happens Next: The Road Ahead for Cerebras
History offers a note of caution. According to an analysis by The Motley Fool, the largest U.S. tech IPOs have often struggled in their first year as public companies. Snowflake, the last company to see a debut of this magnitude, saw its stock fluctuate wildly before eventually finding its footing.
However, Cerebras operates in a fundamentally different environment. Big Tech companies are pouring record levels of spending into AI development and data center expansion. The demand for alternatives to Nvidia's GPUs has never been higher, and Cerebras' wafer-scale architecture offers a compelling alternative for training large language models.
With a $95 billion valuation on $510 million in revenue, the stock trades at a lofty price-to-sales ratio of roughly 186x. But for investors betting on AI's exponential growth, the question isn't whether Cerebras is expensive — it's whether the company can execute on its vision and continue its trajectory of tripling revenue every year.
Key Takeaways
- Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought $32.8M in Cerebras (CBRS) on IPO day while selling TSMC at record highs
- Cerebras completed the biggest IPO of 2026, raising $5.55B at $185/share
- The stock surged 68% on debut, reaching a $95B market cap
- Cerebras reported $510M in 2025 revenue (up 76% YoY) and swung to profitability
- Partners include OpenAI, Meta, AWS, and IBM
- The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is up 75% year-to-date
