  Using the matrix model which calculates the exact free energy of ABJM theory
on S^3 we study non-perturbative effects in the large N expansion of this
model, i.e., in the genus expansion of type IIA string theory on AdS4xCP^3. We
propose a general prescription to extract spacetime instanton actions from
general matrix models, in terms of period integrals of the spectral curve, and
we use it to determine them explicitly in the ABJM matrix model, as exact
functions of the 't Hooft coupling. We confirm numerically that these
instantons control the asymptotic growth of the genus expansion. Furthermore,
we find that the dominant instanton action at strong coupling determined in
this way exactly matches the action of an Euclidean D2-brane instanton wrapping
RP^3.
