The Trump administration has taken a 10 percent stake in Trilogy Metals, a tiny Canadian mining company, sending its stock soaring nearly 300 percent over 48 hours. This marks the latest in a series of government equity investments that signal a dramatic shift from traditional regulatory approaches to a venture capital-style strategy focused on securing America’s position in the AI supply chain race.
The big picture: The White House is operating more like an investment firm than a traditional government regulator, taking direct equity stakes in companies critical to semiconductor and mineral supply chains.
- The administration has also invested in Intel, MP Materials, and Lithium Americas over recent months.
- Each company operates at the heart of supply chains powering the artificial intelligence boom.
- This approach departs from the previous administration’s preference for tax incentives, subsidies, and regulations.
Why this matters: Government endorsements are creating massive market opportunities while blurring the lines between national security and financial interests.
- Stock prices for all four government-backed companies have skyrocketed following announcements.
- If you bought Intel shares the day before the government announced its stake in August, you would have doubled your money by now.
- Some commentators compare the strategy to China’s state-backed markets model.
Key details: The Trilogy Metals investment comes with strategic infrastructure development in Alaska.
- President Trump approved a permit for a mining road in northwest Alaska as part of the deal.
- According to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the administration believes this will unlock “the minerals we need to win the AI arms race against China.”
- The White House isn’t necessarily picking industry leaders, but their selections are driving investor repositioning.
What’s next: The administration may expand its portfolio across energy and defense sectors, creating new speculation opportunities.
- This opens additional lanes for investors to anticipate which companies might see triple-digit surges.
- For opportunistic investors, the strategy has become simple: “buy what the White House buys.”
- The long-term effects of government participation in markets it’s supposed to oversee remain unclear.
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