The 'swamp' of America's power reconstruction symbolized by the use of Palantir's AI tools—shifting from data control to political dominance

In early February 2026, on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio, the ultra-factory “Arsenal-1” operated by U.S. defense technology company Anduril is running, embodying cold efficiency. In this cyberpunk-like facility, thousands of engineers assemble unmanned combat drones “Fury” around the clock. However, behind this mechanized industrial revival lies a hidden reality: Silicon Valley’s tech elites are indulging in an unprecedentedly dangerous game. It is an infinite loop of power shifting from data domination to political control, meaning that the very fabric of American national institutions is being manipulated by the philosophical visions of a few entrepreneurs.

Behind the Immigration Crackdown—The Cold Reality of Data Governance

In January 2026, immediately after the Trump administration announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia, the “Metro Surge Operation” was carried out in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over 2,000 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, equipped with tactical gear, mobilized to raid residential neighborhoods in black SUVs, resulting in mass arrests. During this process, tragedy struck when 37-year-old U.S. citizen Rene Good, a legal monitor, was shot and killed by federal agents.

Behind the mechanical precision of this large-scale immigration crackdown was a tool called “ELITE,” developed by data analytics firm Palantir. Multiple investigations reveal that ICE extensively used this system, integrating Medicaid records, tax data, utility bills, and more, ruthlessly mapping targets on a digital grid through algorithms.

More critically, this is documented in federal contract records dated April 17, 2025. Palantir was awarded a $30 million modification contract by the Department of Homeland Security to develop a platform called “ImmigrationOS.” Official justification documents explicitly state that this system was designed “to support presidential orders to accelerate deportation actions.” In other words, what Palantir built was not merely a data analysis tool but a national population control system.

The Meaning of ‘AI Faith Stocks’ and the Great Shift in Financial Order

In 2025, Palantir shocked Wall Street. After 20 years of being regarded as an unwelcome outsider from Silicon Valley and Wall Street, this company suddenly ascended to become the “backbone of the U.S. stock market.”

Its financial transformation was dramatic. After 19 consecutive years of losses, Palantir achieved GAAP profits for the first time at the end of 2022. By 2025, quarterly revenues surpassed $1 billion for the first time, reaching $1.181 billion. Its growth rate soared from about 20.8% in early 2024 to 62.7% within a year.

However, this rapid performance recovery was driven not just by technological success but by a profound political and systemic shift. In September 2024, Palantir was officially included in the S&P 500. The once strict ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) constraints that had limited its appeal were suddenly lifted. Passive index funds, regardless of ESG scores, had no choice but to buy its stock.

Individual investors responded as well. In 2025, retail investors purchased approximately $8 billion worth of Palantir shares, making it the fifth-largest purchase of the year. On Reddit, retail investors dubbed it the “AI Faith Stock,” praising it as “building the digital operating system that underpins modern civilization.” This collective obsession pushed the price-to-earnings ratio (PER) over 100, rendering traditional valuation models useless.

Meanwhile, Palantir’s value was reaffirmed amid shifting global conflicts from the Gulf War to Middle Eastern disputes. In February 2026, amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, PLTR rose 7%, closing at $145. War itself became the best advertisement—this cold fact repeatedly demonstrated Palantir’s stock performance.

Why Silicon Valley Capital Is Pouring Into the ‘Iron Belt’

At the core of this financial victory lies a long-held philosophical cleansing by Peter Thiel and his disciples. “We wanted flying cars, but only got 140 characters”—this cursed phrase deeply resonated with Silicon Valley’s tech elites.

According to Thiel, the so-called “tech prosperity” since the 1970s is a grand illusion. While indulging in false prosperity in the digital realm, the physical world has suffered fifty years of stagnation. To realize this vision, Silicon Valley’s capital has begun shifting focus from software companies in the San Francisco Bay Area to hardware and defense tech in the American Midwest.

Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) dubbed this movement “American Dynamism,” spending over $1.8 million on lobbying in Washington by 2025. Their goal is straightforward: to help companies like Anduril overcome the “valley of death” in funding.

Because U.S. Department of Defense budgets span 2–3 years, many startups fail before securing their first official contract due to lack of funds. To address this systemic issue, Thiel and the “PayPal Mafia” allies promoted the creation of a new financial institution in 2025—“Lone Pine Bank.”

Lone Pine Bank abandons traditional banking logic, hiring former special forces and senior SpaceX engineers to analyze the likelihood of hardware companies securing government contracts with unprecedented precision. When Anduril presents test data for hypersonic missiles, traditional banks see high R&D risks, but Lone Pine considers it “defense orders over the next five years.”

More importantly, this bank operates as a deeply “relationship-based finance” entity. Thanks to Thiel and Palantir’s networks, they have quietly infiltrated the U.S. federal government and military over the past decade, providing clients with a de facto “fast lane” to government contracts. Deputy Secretary of Defense Michael Obadal, a former senior director at Anduril, has benefited directly from these non-traditional defense contractors’ “rapid procurement” reforms.

Reindustrialization as a Reassertion of Power

This strategic success is verified by data. By early 2026, Ohio’s manufacturing output had grown for four consecutive quarters in double digits, creating over 15,000 high-tech manufacturing jobs.

Inside the Arsenal-1 factory, an operating system called “Arsenal OS” adjusts the production line in real time. Unlike traditional defense industries that outsource parts via global supply chains, Anduril has built its own solid rocket engine factory, ensuring complete supply chain sovereignty. The factory can switch from reconnaissance drone production to cruise missile manufacturing within weeks, responding swiftly to battlefield demands.

This industrial revival enjoys top-level political backing. Ohio-native Vice President J.D. Vance, a disciple of Thiel, acts as a perfect bridge connecting Silicon Valley capital with the “Rust Belt” workers. He serves as the White House’s chief advocate for “America’s strength,” offering massive tax incentives to tech firms building factories in the Rust Belt.

The Inevitable Economic Contradictions Facing the Empire’s Carousel

However, this fervent dream of reindustrialization collides with the cold reality on the global supply chain map—an unseen reef created by physical limits and economic laws.

The most critical weakness is the curse of rare earth elements buried underground. According to USGS data, China controls about 90% of the world’s rare earth refining capacity. California’s Mountain Pass mine is the only U.S. rare earth mine, but due to a lack of domestic separation technology, mined ore must be shipped to China for refining and then bought back at high cost. This creates a paradox: Arsenal-1 is manufacturing weapons using materials sourced from China to contain China.

A more severe issue is power supply. Silicon Valley elites, when promoting “America’s strength,” deliberately overlook a inconvenient physical fact: their dependence on high-power-consuming AI data centers and emerging manufacturing is straining the aging U.S. power grid.

Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2030, data centers will consume 7.5% of U.S. electricity. Meanwhile, manufacturing recovery will further pressure this. Until fusion technology invested in by Lone Pine Bank becomes commercialized, the U.S. faces a zero-sum game. As digital brains and industrial bodies compete for limited energy, the entire giant risks becoming rigid due to blood flow shortages.

The deepest and most intractable dilemma lies in the genetic paradox of dollar dominance. Historically, no country has simultaneously been the world’s largest exporter of industrial products and the global financial ruler—because these require fundamentally opposing monetary policies.

To revive manufacturing and dominate markets through weapons and industrial exports, a weak dollar is necessary to lower costs. But to maintain Wall Street’s financial dominance and attract global capital, a strong dollar is essential. Facing this modern “Triffin dilemma,” Musk and Thiel are using government measures to forcibly shift this balance—trying to transform the dollar from a “public good serving global financial circulation” into a “state tool serving domestic industry.”

This means the U.S. is accepting long-term inflation and using administrative intervention to siphon profits from Wall Street and subsidize Ohio’s production lines—a political gamble at the core of the nation. Are Manhattan’s financial capitalists truly willing to sacrifice their global financial dominance for the sake of the Rust Belt workers?

From Minneapolis’s cold hunting grounds to Washington’s corridors of power, hackers who once rebuilt the information world with code are now attempting to rewrite the physical world with the same logic. They wager on money, reputation, and even America’s fate, trying to prove that the “Silicon Valley way” can save the empire’s decline. The answer lies not in polished presentations but in whether fragile supply chains can keep turning through the coming winter storm.