ARK Invest and Capital Factory Unite on Florida Tech
The firms are stationing a joint venture team in St. Petersburg to scout and vet early-stage companies for investment.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Startups
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ARK Invest and Tim Draper have partnered with Capital Factory to centralize venture capital scouting at the 45,000-square-foot ARK Innovation Center in St. Petersburg. The collaboration formalizes a shared investment network, stationing a Capital Factory team member locally to identify and vet Florida-based technology startups.
Why it matters
This partnership formalizes deal-sharing between three major investment entities, accelerating the pace of capital deployment for Florida startups. By embedding a venture team directly in St. Petersburg, the firms aim to synchronize due diligence across portfolios that have previously overlapped in sectors like robotics and biotechnology.
The 45,000-square-foot ARK Innovation Center now serves as the primary hub for this alliance, which targets high-growth firms similar to previous shared holdings like Apptronik and Colossal Biosciences. The team utilizes joint due diligence protocols to filter candidates from a vast pipeline of more than 1,000 early-stage entities.
The players
ARK Invest
An investment firm focused on disruptive innovation that moved its headquarters to St. Petersburg in 2021.
Capital Factory
An Austin-based venture firm and incubator that manages a portfolio of over 1,000 early-stage technology companies.
Tim Draper
A venture capitalist and founder of Draper Associates who has partnered with ARK Invest and Capital Factory.
The details
The collaboration links ARK Invest’s innovation hub with Capital Factory’s All Access 2027 program, creating a shared funnel for deal flow. By stationing an investment scout within the St. Petersburg facility, the partners will conduct joint technical evaluations and due diligence on prospective startups. This process allows them to leverage collective expertise to vet emerging technologies before committing venture capital, building on a history of co-investments in sectors ranging from robotics to genomics.
Timeline
1985: Tim Draper founded Draper Associates.
2017: Capital Factory made an initial investment in Apptronik.
2021: ARK Invest relocated its headquarters from New York to St. Petersburg.
March 2026: Meet the Drapers event held during SXSW.
October 29, 2026: Partnership between ARK Invest and Capital Factory announced.
The Tech Race
This move integrates the ARK Innovation Center into the broader reach of Capital Factory's All Access 2027 program. It represents a strategic shift toward regional consolidation of venture scouting to compete with traditional tech hubs.
Local entrepreneurs in St. Petersburg now have a direct line to venture capital through the newly stationed scouting team at the ARK Innovation Center. This development effectively creates a faster due diligence pathway for early-stage companies seeking funding from the joint network.
The takeaway
This partnership signals a concerted effort to anchor St. Petersburg as a critical node in a national venture capital scouting network. Investors should monitor future hiring announcements for the venture team, as these roles will dictate which regional technology sectors receive priority funding.
Further reading
For more on the local venture landscape, visit the Startups section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Tampa Bay Business & Wealth.
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