Remember when the government used to pretend it didn’t pick winners and losers? Yeah, those days are officially over. Uncle Sam just sent the “invisible hand” of the free market a breakup text, and honestly, it was a long time coming.
Here’s what’s actually happening while everyone’s arguing about everything else: The U.S. has quietly shifted into what some very smart (and slightly terrifying) people are calling the “Technological Republic.” Think Manhattan Project meets Silicon Valley, with a dash of “we absolutely cannot let China win the AI race.”
The math is pretty simple. China controls 90% of the critical minerals we need. Our power grid is basically held together with duct tape and good vibes. And we’re trying to build AI systems that need more electricity than small countries. The free market’s solution? “Let’s just buy everything from China and hope for the best.”
Washington looked at that plan and said, “Hard pass.”
So now we’re in full mobilization mode. The government isn’t seizing companies (this isn’t Venezuela), but it’s definitely picking favorites. The deal is simple: Help America dominate AI, and you get deregulation, subsidized capital, and the full weight of the U.S. military clearing your path. Don’t help? Enjoy your antitrust lawsuit.
This is why tech CEOs were suddenly very interested in “bending the knee” last year. It wasn’t just photo ops – it was signing a new social contract. Silicon Valley agreed to stop building useless consumer apps and start building the “Arsenal of Democracy 2.0.” In exchange, Washington agreed to stop caring about environmental reviews that take five years to approve a power line.
The result? A massive, government-backed industrial buildout focused on six critical bottlenecks:
Raw Materials: You can’t code copper or print lithium. We’re facing a 10-million-ton copper deficit, and suddenly every mine in America is a “strategic asset.”
Power: AI is an energy vampire. The only solution for 24/7, massive-scale power that doesn’t melt the grid? Nuclear. (Sorry, solar panel enthusiasts.)
Infrastructure: New AI chips run so hot they’d melt a standard server room. We need liquid cooling plumbing for the entire internet.
Compute & Memory: Taiwan makes basically all the advanced chips, and the new memory chips are sold out until 2027. Oops.
Networking: When you connect 100,000 GPUs, copper wires are too slow. Everything’s switching to fiber optics and lasers.
Here’s the investment thesis: When unlimited government capital chases scarce physical resources, prices go parabolic. The smart money isn’t betting on the next social media app – it’s positioning in the companies that control these bottlenecks.
This isn’t about ideology anymore. It’s about survival. And when America decides it can’t afford to lose, it stops debating and starts building. The question isn’t whether this will work – it’s whether you’ll position yourself before the easy gains are gone.
The train is leaving the station. The only question is whether you’re on it.