Trump launches "Tech Force" to take on China
Looks to hire 1,000 of the best of the best in tech beef up American AI deployment
Hello Capitalists,
Here is everything you should be following today:
Trump launches “Tech Force” to spearhead US AI adoption
Partners with Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir and Salesforce
AI stocks hit the skids as financing worries mount
The Pentagon is now in the Zinc business
Zillow is about to be in the fight of it’s life
Oil crashes to 7 year low, gas prices follow
OpenAI just poached top talent from Google to join its growing roster
Today’s markets + assets:
🔴 DOW: 48096.54 (⬇️ 0.66%)
🔴 S&P: 6781.29 (⬇️ 0.52%)
🔴 NASDAQ: 23012.40 (⬇️ 0.20%)
⚠️✅CBOE VIX Volatility Index: 16.77 (⬆️ 1.64%)
✅ Gold: $4336.80 (⬆️ 0.05%)
🔴 Silver: $63.52 (⬇️ 0.07%)
✅ Bitcoin: $87,826 (⬆️ 2.40%)
The Capitalist is a reader-supported publication Reject Corporate Left-Wing Journalism
Trump launches AI “Tech Force” in partnership with America’s Tech Titans
The Trump administration on Monday unveiled the “U.S. Tech Force,” a new initiative to recruit about 1,000 engineers and specialists for two-year stints building AI infrastructure across federal agencies, in partnership with tech giants including Amazon Web Services, Apple and Microsoft, amid intensifying U.S.-China competition.
Two-Year Specialist Commitment: Participants commit to two years working on high-impact projects like AI implementation, data modernization and digital services, reporting directly to agency leaders.
Tech Giants Partner Deeply: Partners including Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir and Salesforce will nominate employees for service and prioritize hiring program alumni afterward.
Competitive Salaries Offered: Roles feature annual pay estimated at $150,000 to $200,000 plus benefits, targeting early-career technologists to address federal talent gaps.
Boosts U.S. AI Dominance: The program advances Trump’s push for national AI leadership, following his recent executive order establishing a unified federal policy framework over state regulations.
Ifrah Law heightens the success of iGaming clients through every phase of their business cycle
Led by a managing partner who has been at the center of every significant court case affecting online gaming, Ifrah Law operates at the cutting edge of technology, innovation, and regulation.
Its lawyers represent industry players throughout the entire business cycle, from the formation of a corporation or licensing relationship, through marketing, partnering, growth, and disputes, to profitable exits.
We’re proud to share that all partners at Ifrah Law have been ranked by Chambers and Partners, the gold standard for evaluating legal excellence worldwide.
AI infrastructure stocks plunge over financing worries
The AI infrastructure selloff deepened on Wall Street Monday, with shares of Broadcom tumbling 5.6%, Oracle sliding 2.7%, and CoreWeave dropping about 8% amid mounting investor worries over financing massive data center expansions.
Broadcom Faces Margin Pressure: Despite forecasting AI chip sales doubling to $8.2 billion, lower gross margins on AI systems contributed to an 11% drop last week and further declines.
Oracle’s Debt Burden Soars: Capital expenditures jumped to $50 billion with lease commitments up 148% to $248 billion, fueling concerns over its 500% debt-to-equity ratio versus peers.
CoreWeave Hits Debt Risks: The Nvidia GPU cloud provider, down over 60% from its June high, carries a 120% debt-to-equity ratio, amplifying selloff pressures.
Investors Demand Proven ROI: Market skepticism is growing on funding sustainability, even as AI demand surges and experts note potential revenue from more compute capacity.
Pentagon grabs stake in massive Tennessee smelter
The Pentagon is acquiring a 40% stake in a $7.4 billion critical minerals smelter in Tennessee through a partnership with South Korea’s Korea Zinc, aiming to produce 540,000 tons annually and reduce U.S. reliance on China-dominated supply chains.
Share Sale Details: Korea Zinc will issue $1.9 billion in new shares to a U.S. government-controlled joint venture, giving it and strategic investors 10% ownership in the company.
Priority Access Granted: The agreement ensures the United States gains priority access to Korea Zinc’s expanded global critical minerals production starting in 2026.
National Security Boost: Officials emphasize the deal strengthens defense, semiconductors, AI, and advanced manufacturing by rebuilding domestic processing absent since the 1970s.
Broader Trump Strategy: This follows similar Pentagon investments, including a major stake in rare earth miner MP Materials and an $8.5 billion framework with Australia.
Google’s real estate move could spell doom for Zillow
Zillow shares plunged more than 9% Monday, wiping out about $1.6 billion in market value, after Google began testing real estate listings directly in its search results—sparking fears of heightened long-term competition in the online property portal space.
Google Tests Listings: Google is experimenting with for-sale property listings in select markets on mobile, powered by HouseCanary, enabling users to view details, request tours, and contact agents without leaving search.
Limited Near-Term Impact: Analysts expect minimal immediate effects, as most of Zillow’s traffic (228 million users in Q3) comes directly via its app and site rather than organic search.
Potential Long-Term Risks: A nationwide rollout could gradually erode portal traffic, raise acquisition costs, and pressure lead generation and monetization over years.
Analyst Views Mixed: Goldman Sachs sees Google’s move as a long-term headwind; Wells Fargo anticipates higher traffic expenses but no disintermediation; Oppenheimer warns of multi-year implications if expanded.
Oil prices plunge to 7-year low
Crude oil futures tumbled Tuesday to their lowest levels since May, with U.S. benchmark WTI dropping 2.13% to $55.61 per barrel and Brent falling 1.93% to $59.39, amid surging OPEC+ supply and fading Ukraine war risks.
OPEC+ Boosts Production Rapidly: After years of output cuts, the group has ramped up supply, creating a market surplus that’s driving prices lower this year.
Geopolitical Tensions Ease Significantly: Prospects of a Ukraine-Russia peace deal under Trump administration pressure has reduced threats of supply disruptions that have plagued the market since since the 2022 invasion.
Worst Annual Drop Looming: WTI down 22% year-to-date (steepest since 2018), while Brent has fallen nearly 20% (worst since 2020).
U.S. Gasoline Prices Collapse: Average pump prices dipped below $3 per gallon nationwide, hitting the lowest level in four years, per AAA data.
OpenAI Poaches top Google deal-maker!
OpenAI has lured away Albert Lee, the Google executive who spearheaded corporate development for Google Cloud and DeepMind—including the massive $32 billion Wiz acquisition bid—to lead its own strategic investments and mergers as the AI race intensifies.
Lee’s Proven Track Record: Lee oversaw several high-profile Google acquisitions, bringing deep M&A expertise to OpenAI’s growing leadership team.
OpenAI’s Acquisition Spree: They recently acquired Neptune for AI training tools, Statsig for $1.1 billion, io for over $6 billion, and Software Applications Incorporated.
Building Executive Bench: Lee joins recent hires like former Slack CEO Denise Dresser as chief revenue officer and ex-Instacart CEO Fidji Simo as head of applications.
Valuation Surge Milestone: OpenAI’s valuation has skyrocketed to $500 billion since launching ChatGPT in late 2022, fueling its aggressive growth strategy.
But first the USA 🇺🇸 must prevent China from stealing our military secrets and other information from all parts of our economy