U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed large-scale expenditure bill is expected to provide significant benefits to Silicon Valley tech corporations. Trump has allocated a budget of approximately $300 billion (about 400 trillion won) under the pretext of modernizing defense and strengthening homeland security, with a substantial amount planned to be invested in non-traditional defense technologies.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on 5th (local time), the proposed "One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA)" includes a total budget of $300 billion for strengthening defense and homeland security, of which $6 billion is earmarked for enhancing border security technology.
This budget will particularly focus on installing autonomous surveillance towers in the U.S.-Mexico border area, and Anduril, the sole supplier of this technology, is expected to benefit directly. Anduril is a Silicon Valley-based defense technology startup headquartered in California, having received the sole technological certification for autonomous surveillance tower systems from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As a result, it has effectively secured a monopoly supply contract.
Palantir, co-founded by Peter Thiel and closely associated with President Trump, is also considered a major beneficiary. Palantir signed a $30 million contract with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for its 'Immigration OS' platform last April and is expected to expand its contracts with the U.S. Army to up to $10 billion over the next 10 years by integrating numerous smaller contracts. In its recent quarterly earnings report, Palantir stated that its revenue surged nearly 50% year-over-year, driven by increased government sector orders.
The bill also includes a $150 billion budget for the Ministry of National Defense, which will be used for the development of innovative drone systems, naval combat technologies, and systems to strengthen nuclear deterrence. An additional $165 billion is provisioned for the Department of Homeland Security, to be invested in enhancements including artificial intelligence, satellite, and sensor technologies.
The Trump administration is formalizing its collaboration with these technology corporations. Shortly after returning to office, Trump appointed Gregory Barbasia, a former Palantir executive, as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the White House, and Michael Oberal, a former director at Anduril, was appointed to a senior civilian position in the Army. The White House noted that "cooperation with technology corporations proven by results and innovation contributes to both tax efficiency and security."
Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, has joined 1789 Capital to support defense startups such as Anduril and Hadrian, which were funded by Peter Thiel. It has been revealed that some former and current senior officials at the White House also hold shares in Palantir. The White House clarified that these individuals do not participate in policymaking that could influence these interests.
Palantir has recorded the highest stock price increase in the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 this year, surpassing the market capitalization of traditional defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The industry interprets this as a "shift of power against the existing military-industrial complex."
Major artificial intelligence (AI) corporations like OpenAI, Google, and xAI have also joined this trend by signing contracts worth a total of $800 million with the Ministry of National Defense. The 'Golden Dome' missile defense project initiated by President Trump is expected to allocate at least $150 billion to build a new defense network based on AI, sensor, and satellite technologies.
The recently held 'Reindustrialize Conference,' which focused on the cooperation between defense technology startups and the government, brought together hundreds of tech startups and high-ranking officials from defense and intelligence agencies to discuss defense contracts. The Trump administration aims to streamline the defense procurement system and expand cooperation with innovative technology corporations.
Experts diagnose that the actions related to this bill and personnel decisions are interpreted as "a restructuring of the American military-industrial complex aware of the technological hegemony competition with China."