Geopolitical tensions are increasingly reshaping the global economy. Defense spending is rising, energy security has returned to the policy agenda, and competition over artificial intelligence and critical technologies is becoming an increasingly important part of national security. At the same time, conflicts and supply chain disruptions are exposing vulnerabilities in an interconnected global system.

In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks with Anna Parker, part of the Geopolitical Research and Strategy team at BlackRock, and Yasmin Meissner, portfolio manager for Thematic Strategies at BlackRock. Together, they look beyond short-term geopolitical headlines to explore what BlackRock calls the “resilience economy”—the growing focus on strengthening security and reducing strategic dependencies across energy, defense and technology.

Anna examines how geopolitical shocks are changing the global energy system and why countries are investing in greater resilience. Yasmin explores the transformation underway in defense, from autonomous systems and counter-drone technology to software and space. They also discuss the geopolitical competition surrounding AI, the push for technology sovereignty, and why strategic choke points including rare earths, semiconductors and energy infrastructure could have increasingly important implications for global markets.

Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:44 The Global Resilience Economy Thesis

05:51 Investing Across Three Pillars

08:01 Energy Shock Lessons

11:18 Building Future Energy Resilience

12:35 Defense Innovation Tour

16:32 Modernizing Military Software

17:56 AI Sovereignty and Supply Chains

22:13 Choke Points to Watch

24:56 Key Takeaways and Wrap

Key insights

· Why geopolitical fragmentation is reshaping the global economy and increasing the focus on resilience.

· How energy security is evolving as countries respond to geopolitical shocks and vulnerabilities in global supply.

· Why defense technology is changing, from autonomous systems and counter-drone capabilities to software and space.

· How AI is becoming part of geopolitical competition and driving greater focus on technology sovereignty.

· Where strategic choke points are emerging across rare earths, semiconductors and energy infrastructure.

· What the resilience economy could mean for investors as capital flows toward energy, defense and technology.

Check out our previous episode on defense with Rolf Heitmeyer: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6QebK6raugH9Vr80NHO5Oi?si=x7fzE0kqSlSvFiqpxdq3HQ

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geopolitics, defense investing, energy security, artificial intelligence, geopolitical fragmentation, resilience economy, technology sovereignty, global markets

Sources: “We can buy more weapons. We can’t buy more time,” Defense One, 2026; “Anduril, Department of War Sign Production Agreement for Surface-Launched Barracuda-500M,” Anduril, 2026; “Background Briefing on FY 2026 Defense Budget,” U.S. Department of War, 2025; “FY 2027 Defense Space Budget: Dramatic and Targeted Growth,” Center for Space Policy and Strategy, The Aerospace Corporation, 2026; “Technological Evolution on the Battlefield,” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 2025; “Results of Ukraine’s Defense Industry in 2025: FPV Drones,” National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, 2026; “Leonidas High-Power Microwave: Directed Energy for cUAS, cUAS Swarms, Counter Electronics,” Epirus; “Estimating the Cost of Combat Operations Against Iran,” Congressional Budget Office, 2026; “Global Data Centre Outlook 2026-50: Malaysia Key Findings,” PwC, 2026; “Cloud Computing,” European Commission, 2026; “Oil markets strain to plug the gap left by Middle East supply shortfall,” International Energy Agency (IEA), 2026; “IEA Member countries to carry out largest ever oil stock release amid market disruptions from Middle East conflict,” International Energy Agency (IEA), 2026; “Middle East Crude Oil Exports Back at Prewar Levels, Analysts Say,” The Wall Street Journal, 2026; “Why oil prices haven’t gone crazy despite 5 months of US-Iran war,” Reuters, 2026; “Sheltering from Oil Shocks: Measures to Reduce Impacts on Households and Businesses,” International Energy Agency (IEA), 2026; “Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2025,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 2026; “Impacts of Middle East conflict set to reshape energy investment plans as disruptions put focus on security,” International Energy Agency (IEA), 2026.

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275: How Geopolitics Is Redefining Defense, Energy, Technology and Global Markets

The Bid - An Investing Podcast from BlackRock

275: How Geopolitics Is Redefining Defense, Energy, Technology and Global Markets