A few weeks ago, I was at the MoneyShow in Las Vegas, where we discussed artificial intelligence and data centers.
What struck me was the sheer unanimity of the conversation surrounding AI. Every speaker, every panel, every hallway huddle pointed to the idea that the technology is no longer a speculative play. Instead, the consensus was that AI represents the next great capital expenditure supercycle. It’s going to reshape every industry it touches, and the companies supplying the picks and shovels — chips, cybersecurity, defense tech — are at the center of it.
By now you’ve likely seen the news that the Department of Defense issued an ultimatum to Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI chatbot, demanding unrestricted military access to its technology. When Anthropic pushed back — citing its policies against mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons — the Pentagon took its first steps to label the company a “supply chain risk,” a designation
