Are you old enough to remember the Space Race?
Well, if you are, then you already know this.
The Space Race was one hell of a turning point for humanity.
It started with two fateful events:
- In 1957, the Soviet Union catapulted the world’s first satellite — Sputnik — into orbit.
- Then, in 1961, the Soviets followed up by launching the first person — Yuri Gagarin — into space.
These events were seen as extraordinary at the time. They sent shockwaves through the American psyche:
- Was the United States falling behind the Soviet Union? Was space going to be dominated by the Reds? Was communism going to triumph over capitalism?
- This existential crisis struck a raw nerve. Public fear went into overdrive. This created a serious national conversation in the United States. About security. About ideology. About progress.
Of course, in hindsight, this wake-up call was a positive thing:
- The Americans responded to the fear by doing what they do best: swinging decisively into action. They unified politically. They re-organised themselves industrially. Then they threw everything they had into a new era of ambition and innovation.
- In 1962, President John F. Kennedy made a courageous promise: to put American astronauts on the Moon by the end of the decade. Ultimately, this was not just about national prestige, but the survival of Western liberal democracy itself.
- You might argue that such desperation was necessary. It became the best possible motivator for the United States. Creating the momentum for success. After all, nothing creates a sense of urgency more than lighting a fire under someone’s ass, right?
Source: Image generated by OpenAI’s DALL-E
Now, in 2025, it’s possible that we’re experiencing a similar moment of urgency. Another global tech race is happening. This one involves artificial intelligence:
- Over the past month, a Chinese company called DeepSeek has launched two generative AI models — DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1.
- Benchmark tests appear to suggest that these chatbots are matching their American counterparts in certain scenarios like mathematics and coding.
- For DeepSeek-V3, what’s astounding is that the Chinese have apparently achieved this on a shoestring budget of $5.58 million. Plus, here’s another remarkable claim: they reportedly did it with a development cycle of just two months.
This event sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley on January 27. Provoking a lot of national angst and soul-searching:
- Tech stocks reacted to this negative mood by selling off heavily. Most notably, Nvidia [NASDAQ:NVDA] lost a staggering $600 billion in market capitalisation. This was the biggest one-day drop for the company. Ever.
- Of course, the fear didn’t last very long. The market bounced back from this flash of anxiety. But, still, this event has left us with some thorny questions.
- Is the United States falling behind China? Is artificial intelligence going to be dominated by the Reds? Is communism going to triumph over capitalism?
- Well, history repeats and rhymes. There’s a perception of an existential crisis. This isn’t a great feeling — but it may be exactly what America needs to energise itself and compete on a higher level.
- So, let’s look beyond what the mainstream media is telling us. What’s true? What’s fake? What matters? Well, here are 2 Critical Signals you really need to watch out for as the race for AI heats up…
Your first Quantum Wealth Report is waiting for you:
⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: NZ$37.00 / monthly
⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: US$24.00 / monthly
John is the Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Morning. His responsibilities include trading, client service, and compliance. He is an experienced investor and portfolio manager, trading both on his own account and assisting with high net-worth clients. In addition to contributing financial and geopolitical articles to this site, John is a bestselling author in his own right. His international thrillers have appeared on the USA Today and Amazon bestseller lists.