Cathie Wood's Ark says satellite internet and hypersonic travel will be 'breakthroughs' for investors

Published Wed, Jan 27 202110:47 AM EST

Michael Sheetz @in/michaeljsheetz @thesheetztweetz

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest named satellite internet and hypersonic air travel as two of its "big ideas," according to a presentation during the ETF Trends webcast on Tuesday titled "Technological Breakthroughs Investors Shouldn't Miss." Ark estimated that global annual satellite internet revenues could reach $40 billion within the next five to 10 years, while the firm expects demand for high-speed air travel could bring in revenues of up to $270 billion a year. "According to ARK's research, the $40 billion opportunity to serve populations without access is a fraction of the total addressable market for satellite broadband," Ark said. Elon Musk's SpaceX is the furthest along in building its high-speed satellite internet network called Starlink , with more than 1,000 satellites launched to date. Just behind Starlink is SoftBank-backed OneWeb, which recently returned from bankruptcy to resume launching satellites, and Amazon's Project Kuiper, which is still in the development stage. Ark expects that networks like Starlink, OneWeb and Kuiper could see a significant market from connecting "planes, trains, and motor vehicles," which the firm estimates "is likely to reach $36 billion in 2025." "Governments globally are likely to add further to the demand for space services," Ark added. In the long-term, Ark sees the market for satellite internet hitting as much as $100 billion in annual revenue. Hypersonic air travel, or flying at more than five times the speed of sound, is an emerging sector of aerospace that Ark believes would rapidly disrupt today's commercial air market. "According to our research, passengers on short-haul flights are willing to pay roughly $15,000 for every two hours saved on private planes," Ark said. Ark estimates that passengers would be willing to pay $100,000 to save 13 hours on a hypersonic flight from New York City to Japan. And, with Ark expecting 2.7 million passengers a year falling in that category, the hypersonic travel market "would scale to $270 billion in revenues annually." Several companies are working on supersonic passenger jets. While not as fast as hypersonic, supersonic jets would still mark a significant step forward decreasing the time for flights. Companies developing supersonic jets include Boom , Aerion , and Virgin Galactic . – CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald contributed to this report. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

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