Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner and Jacob Helberg | Reviving American Leadership in the 21st Century

Artificial intelligence represents the most significant technological paradigm shift, necessitating development aligned with American democratic values to ensure Western security and prosperity. Josh Kushner, founder of the investment firm Thrive, emphasizes that maintaining a competitive edge requires prioritizing talent, compute, and energy while treating technological leadership as a national crisis. Investment strategies should focus on long-term, category-defining businesses, particularly in robotics, data infrastructure, and domain-specific models. Although automation may displace certain roles, it creates new categories of work that enhance human productivity and skill access. Policymakers must adopt first-principles thinking, fostering public-private collaboration similar to past initiatives like Operation Warp Speed to secure American leadership. Falling behind nations with opposing values would have profound consequences, making the current moment a critical juncture for national and global security.