JPMorgan Chase unveils $10B national security investment plan
J.P. Morgan Chase offices at the Canary Wharf financial district in London. photo by Mike Kemp / In Pictures via Getty Images
By
Ross Wilkers
Direct equity and venture capital investments will feature in the global banking giant's new Security and Resiliency Initiative.
JPMorgan Chase has unveiled a 10-year plan for backing and acquiring ownership stakes in companies the global finance giant sees as critical to U.S. interests, including and especially national security.
The bank will invest up to $10 billion in companies across these four areas: defense and aerospace, “frontier” technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, energy technology including batteries, and supply chain and advanced manufacturing.
Direct equity and venture capital investments will feature in the Security and Resiliency Initiative, for which JPMorgan is committing $1.5 trillion in overall funding to facilitate and finance companies in those areas.
The $10 billion figure represents direct equity and venture capital investments JPMorgan plans to make. JPMorgan will also hire bankers and create an external advisory council to help guide the effort.
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Of course, tensions between the U.S. and China are the backdrop against which JPMorgan is undertaking this initiative. China is tightening export controls on rare earth minerals, of which it is the world’s dominant supplier, while President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese imports on Friday.
“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing – all of which are essential for our national security,” JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon said in a release. “Our security is predicated on the strength and resiliency of America’s economy. America needs more speed and investment. It also needs to remove obstacles that stand T
JPMorgan breaks down the initiative’s four key areas as follows:
- Defense and aerospace: autonomous systems, defense technology, drones, secure communications and next-generation connectivity
- Energy independence and resilience: battery storage, distributed energy and grid resilience
- Frontier and strategic technologies: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing
- Supply chain and advanced manufacturing: critical minerals, robotics and pharmaceutical precursors
Watch the CNBC report below: