Remember when the government was supposed to stay out of business? Yeah, well, that memo apparently got lost somewhere between ChatGPT going viral and data centers sucking up more power than small countries.
Here’s what’s happening: Uncle Sam has basically become a venture capitalist with a printing press, and it’s creating some absolutely wild opportunities for investors who pay attention.
The Government’s New Side Hustle
In the past few months, we’ve watched the feds drop serious cash on companies like they’re collecting Pokemon cards. Intel got $9 billion. MP Materials saw a 111% pop after Pentagon backing. Trilogy Metals? A casual 211% gain in ONE DAY after the White House announced a stake.
That’s not a typo. People literally went to bed with a boring mining stock and woke up with life-changing money.
The pattern is clear: when Washington decides something is “critical to national security,” stocks don’t just go up—they rocket ship to the moon.
AI’s Dirty Little Secret
Here’s the thing nobody talks about at those fancy AI conferences: these systems are absolute energy vampires. OpenAI’s latest partnership needs 10 gigawatts of power. That’s like plugging in 10 nuclear plants just to keep the chatbots running.
Goldman Sachs thinks data center power demand will jump 165% by 2030. The grid is already sweating, and we’re just getting started.
Solar panels? Great for your roof, terrible for 24/7 AI operations. Wind power? Only works when Mother Nature cooperates. Batteries? Still not ready for prime time at this scale.
That leaves nuclear power as the only adult in the room.
Big Tech Gets It
Microsoft literally restarted Three Mile Island (yes, THAT Three Mile Island) to power their AI dreams. Amazon dropped $500 million on small modular reactors. Google signed the world’s first corporate nuclear deal.
When tech giants start throwing around half-billion-dollar checks for nuclear power, you know something big is happening.
The Smart Money Moves Early
Here’s the kicker: these massive government announcements don’t happen overnight. There’s always a “leak cycle” where the smart money quietly positions itself before the headlines hit.
Look at the charts. Trilogy Metals was already up 30% before that 211% explosion. Lithium Americas climbed 20% in the weeks before its 194% rocket ride.
Right now, there’s one nuclear company with connections that would make a Washington lobbyist jealous. Trump’s Energy Secretary has fast-tracked their projects. Sam Altman (yes, the OpenAI guy) was literally on their board before stepping down to “avoid conflicts of interest.”
Translation: massive deals are coming.
The Bottom Line
We’re watching the birth of a new investment category: government-backed AI infrastructure plays. Nuclear power isn’t just coming back—it’s about to become the foundation of the entire digital economy.
The question isn’t whether this will happen. It’s whether you’ll be positioned before the headlines hit or scrambling to catch up after the easy money is gone.
Sometimes the best trades hide in plain sight. This might be one of those times.