The Truth About the “Moon Landing”

Hardware is the new software. [Altucher Confidential] February 23, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Unclench those cheeks. The kids are alright. [Hero_Image] The Truth About the “Moon Landing” [Chris Campbell] CHRIS CAMPBELL “The elites don’t want you to know this but you can just build a factory and start making things.” - Zane Mountcastle ([@zanemountcastle]( If you were clenching your buttcheeks ahead of the moon landing yesterday… You weren’t alone. It was at least you, me, and Intuitive Machines ([@Int_Machines](... The Texas-based private company that made history by being the first private venture to make it to the moon. [Altucher Confidential] Many will go about their day today as if nothing significant happened. Been there, done that. But not us. We recognize this is just a microcosm of something much bigger playing out in America. I’ll give you a hint: That’s American-made hardware. On the moon. Your Name Here. Is your name on our list to receive Monday's critical trade alert from our top expert trader? Our records indicate that you are currently missing the most profitable trade ideas in our company. And on Monday morning… Our most successful trader is set to deliver a real-time time update - LIVE - to a select group of Paradigm Press readers. A trade idea that could potentially double your money in one day. [Make sure your name is on this list now, before Monday morning]( Hardware is the New Software We spill no shortage of virtual ink about how software has changed -- and is changing -- the world. And yet, for months my Spidey Senses have been telling me that the pendulum is swinging hard (pun intended) in the opposite direction… American hardware is coming back into focus. (After all, it’s part of the Cosmolocalist thesis, to be featured in my next book: The Cosmolocalist Handbook: A Blueprint for (Multi-)Planetary Prosperity.) Rather than being bearish for software, it’s giga-bullish. Better hardware is better software is better hardware, fueling one another in a virtuous cycle of technological progress. We saw a glimpse of this trend in the (weirdly giddy) excitement surrounding the Rabbit R1 device at CES in Vegas. Yeah, sure, it could all be done on your phone, but here’s the thing: The excitement was less about AI and more about novel hardware. America is hungry for hardware innovation. [Altucher Confidential] Best part? Unbeknownst to most, a powerful “deep tech” movement is brewing to bring manufacturing back to America. Sure, a lot of big players are involved. But the most interesting development is a ragtag group of startups -- countering the software-centric status quo -- mostly converging on one central theme: Make American manufacturing better, cheaper, faster, and stronger. As a Rust Beltian -- born and raised in the fentanyl-ridden focal point of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy -- this is music to my ears. But the question is begged: WTF is Deep/Hard Tech? Christian Keil ([@pronounced_kyle]( Chief of Staff of satellite builder Astranis ([@Astranis]( defines deep tech as: “When there is primarily technical risk and basically no market risk. Meaning, that the question you have to answer as a deep tech entrepreneur is not ‘Will people buy it?’ but instead ‘Can we build it.’” Keil uses Helion ([@Helion_Energy]( as an example: A company building a nuclear fusion reactor that could harness near-limitless energy. And Solugen ([@solugen]( which is making industrial chemicals from biological feedstock rather than fossil fuels. And, of course, Astranis , which is building small satellites to help get the developing world online. But while everyone’s focused on the big deep tech players -- SpaceX, TSMC, and Nvidia -- few are privy to the scrappy startups on the rise. One compelling vision comes from Aaron Slodov ([@aphysicist]( , founder of deep tech company Atomic Industries ([@atomic_inc]( and author of the [Techno-Industrialist Manifesto](. “It should be as easy to make physical things as it is to make software,” says Slodov. Now we’re talking. “Sweat, Space Dreams, and Nicotine” Credit where it’s due… I lifted the title of that subhead -- [Sweat, Space Dreams, and Nicotine]( -- from Vice Chairman of Experience Camps ([@ExperienceCamps]( Ashley Pelzel ([@AshleyAPelzel]( who spent a week in El Segundo, California (AKA, the Gundo). El Segundo, if you’re not aware, is THE place to go if you’re a founder of a hard tech company. SpaceX started there. Radiant Nuclear. Varda. ABL Space Systems. (John Coogan ([@johncoogan]( EIR at Founders Fund ([@foundersfund]( did an excellent deep dive video on El Segundo [here]( There, Pelzel bore witness to a deep tech/hard tech hackathon focused on defense tech. “People flew in from all over the country and the world to be here,” Pelzel wrote. “I even met someone who flew in the night before from Australia. Their reasons for coming were deeply meaningful to them—this is not a hobby; it’s a calling.” The hackathon was organized by Apollo Defense ([@apollo_defense]( 8vc ([@8vc]( National Security Innovation Network ([@NSIN_us]( and Entrepreneur First ([@join_ef](. According to Gundo lore, the hackathon was in part in response to Stanford denying the application for a Defense Tech Club. (Because, presumably, Defense Tech has little to do with the university’s primary focus: ethnicity, sexuality, and grievance studies (the other ESG).) So what did the Defense Tech Club organizers do? They organized their own unofficial tech club, hosted by the top brass at Anduril Industries ([@anduriltech]( and a16z ([@a16z]( Marc Andreessen ([@pmarca]( Katherine Boyle ([@KTmBoyle]( David Ulevitch ([@davidu]( and Matt Grimm ([@mttgrmm](. [Altucher Confidential] One week after this kickoff party, the hackathon in El Gundo came together. “Compared to hackathons in SF,” said deep tech pioneer Andrew Côté ([@Andercot]( the crowd at Gundo was “markedly different -- hardware engineers, defense tech founders, military intelligence and contractors replaced the usual FAANG, B2B SaaS, and LLM-centric projects that have overflowed the past year of the AI gold rush.” Côté pointed out the irony of this newfound counterculture: “the contrarian deep tech founders of today, like Isaiah Taylor ([@isaiah_p_taylor]( -- pro-nuclear, pro-natal, building hydrocarbon energy abundance -- are really a revival of the American Dynamism of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that built so much of the country. Tech needs this.” Next week, we’ll feature some of the deep tech companies you should know about that will change the face of manufacturing in America. Until then, I leave you with what Jeff Morris ([@jmj]( managing partner at early-stage fund Chapter One ([@chapterone]( said of the Gundo Experience: “I spent today in Gundo for the El Segundo Tech Hackathon. The event took on a life of its own, so I drove 20 minutes down the road to see the action. 100s of engineers & investors on a holiday weekend building dozens of crazy projects. “Been said before - the kids are alright.” Until next time, [Chris Campbell] Chris Campbell For Altucher Confidential James Altucher: THIS is my top AI investment pick I’ve been called a “genius investor” by my fans… And an “eccentric millionaire” by some others. I think it’s because I make big predictions that [tend to come true.]( Today, I’m making my boldest prediction ever. Revealing the AI stocks I believe… Could turn as little as $10,000… Into $1 MILLION over the next few years. To show you I’m serious about helping you get in on this opportunity, I’m giving away one of my top 5 AI 2.0 stock picks – free. [See my top 5 pick here now.]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Altucher Confidential e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Altucher Confidential, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@altucherconfidential.com. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. 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