Editor’s Note: Every so often, the market shifts in a way that most investors don’t notice until it’s already too late. Right now, we’re living through one of those moments. The headlines are fixated on Nvidia and the day-to-day swings, but they’re missing the bigger story: Washington is now the most powerful force in the AI market. When the government declares a company “mission-critical,” those stocks aren’t just rising — they’re exploding 200%, 300%, even 400% in weeks.

My colleague and friend Luke Lango has spent months mapping out this new landscape, and he’s just released an important briefing identifying the small U.S. firms he believes are next in line for federal backing, including one he reveals for free. If you’re serious about capturing the next phase of the AI boom, make sure you watch it.

I invited him here to today to tell us a little bit more about this market shift…

In 1848, a shopkeeper named Sam Brannan ran through the streets of San Francisco shouting about gold.

But he wasn’t headed to the river to pan for nuggets.

Brannan had a different plan.

He’d quietly bought up all the picks and shovels in town… then sold those tools to the flood of incoming miners at hefty markups, making a killing while others toiled for flakes.

His strategy spawned the classic maxim:

During a gold rush, sell shovels.

Fast-forward to the smartphone boom of the late 2000s, and the same dynamic played out in modern form.

Everyone recognized front-door giants like Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung as big winners.

But the mother lode profits flowed through a side door to lesser-known companies that were indispensable to the new mobile ecosystem.

The “picks and shovels” of the smartphone era delivered some of the most explosive gains. For example…

• Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC): This key supplier of the lithium powering smartphone batteries surged over 930% between January 2009 and January 2010 as battery demand boomed.
• OmniVision Technologies: This maker of image sensors used in early iPhone cameras rocketed 460% in two years between early 2009 and late 2010.

By comparison, AAPL rose “only” about 278% in that same timeframe – an enviable return, yet far shy of what those behind-the-scenes players achieved.

These were classic backdoor booms… the kind of sudden revaluations where an overlooked stock erupts once the market wakes up to its importance.

And right now, we’re seeing that pattern unfold again on an even bigger scale.

In the AI boom, the real fortunes aren’t being made in Big Tech. They’re coming from little-known companies deep in the supply chain – AI’s picks and shovels – suddenly deemed mission-critical.

This time, however, the catalyst isn’t just surging demand. It’s the ultimate backdoor benefactor: the U.S. government stepping in and all but anointing these hidden players.

In short, the backdoor is wide open again… and the biggest opportunities are waiting just beyond it.

I believe some of these names could realistically soar 500%–1,000% over the next few years – and I’ve prepared a special broadcast to tell you more about a shortlist of seven small U.S. companies I’ve identified that look best positioned to ride this wave.

More on that in a moment…

The Ultimate AI-Supply-Chain Kingmaker

The U.S. government recognizes that AI is not merely a commercial product.

It is the central theater of our geopolitical competition with China.

China controls most of the physical inputs required for AI:

• 90% of rare earth processing
• 70% of the global battery supply chain
• Dominance in magnet production and semiconductor packaging

This concentration of control is a glaring vulnerability.

As a result, the “Invisible Hand” of the market is being joined by the “Visible Hand” of the state. Washington is intervening to secure the AI supply chain, acting as a kingmaker.

It’s taking equity stakes, securing critical supplies, and funneling billions into the companies it deems essential to America’s technological advantage.

For months, I’ve been everything from the federal AI Action Plan and the Office of Strategic Capital roadmap to insights from my network and the newly announced “Genesis Mission” to identify the companies that are next in line for a government-driven melt-up.

Today, I want to show you how to use this insight to get ahead of the next potential 500%–1,000% movers… before the rest of the market catches on.

Why Most Investors Miss the Real AI Stock Winners

The biggest mistake investors are making in today’s AI boom?

They’re looking for profits in the obvious places: Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL).

Yes, those companies are winners. But they’re already some of the biggest businesses in the world. They’re not where the truly asymmetric gains are being made.

Instead, the smart money is flowing into the little-known companies hiding within the AI supply chain:

• Rare earth magnets
• Semiconductor fabrication
• Nuclear micro-reactors
• Laser sensing systems
• Mineral processing
• Chip packaging

These are not flashy businesses or household names.

Many trade at market caps so small that large hedge funds and mutual funds can’t even touch them.

But they are absolutely essential to American AI dominance… which is why Washington is busting down the backdoor – buying stakes, signing contracts, securing supply, and hand-selecting the companies America cannot afford to lose.

And every time it happens, the selected company’s stock can erupt like a volcano.

Real-World Proof

Here’s how predictable this pattern has been:

• Intel Corp. (INTC) – The government agrees to buy a stake on August 22 → stock up around 77% by late October.
• MP Materials Corp. (MP) – On July 10, the Pentagon says it will become a major shareholder → stock surges 228% by mid-October.
• Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC) – News of a planned 5% federal stake on October 1 → stock jumps 227% in three weeks.
• Trilogy Metals Inc. (TMQ) – $35 million of federal money for 10% equity announced on October 6 → stock rockets more than 400% in one week.

These companies did not become winners because of hype or speculation, but because Washington walked through the backdoor and effectively said, “We need you.”

This is state-level intervention.

And it carries more weight than any analyst upgrade, earnings beat, buyout rumor, or tech headline.

Why the White House Is Pouring Billions Into AI Supply Chains

AI is not just another “tech trend.”

It is the defining national-security and economic challenge of the century.

The White House knows this. The Pentagon knows this. Congress knows this.

And China knows it best of all.

Controlling rare earths, batteries, magnets, chip packaging, and related infrastructure gives it leverage over every advanced AI system the world wants to build.

That’s the backdoor opportunity here.

The U.S. isn’t trying to win the AI race by competing with GPUs alone. It’s trying to lock down the underlying supply chain that makes GPUs – and everything around them – possible.

All of this shows the government is running a playbook. It’s identifying the chokepoints America can’t afford to lose, naming the companies that fill those gaps, and then flooding them with capital.

Once you understand that playbook, you can see the early warning signals for the next potential 200%… 400%… even 1,000% moves – long before they hit the headlines.

Most investors aren’t reading federal supply-chain documents or studying Pentagon investment maps. They don’t have time to parse AI-infrastructure blueprints.

Fortunately, my team and I do.

And after months of researching funding patterns and supply-chain priorities, one company kept rising to the top.

A Company Ready for a Government-Backed Melt-Up

The firm I’m most excited about sits at the precise intersection of:

• AI demand
• National-security priority
• Domestic production requirements
• White House policy
• Federal energy mandates
• Pentagon sourcing strategy

Its technology is irreplaceable. Its leadership works directly with defense suppliers. And its positioning makes it, in my view, one of the most obvious candidates for the next government-backed explosion.

It’s also one of seven small U.S. companies I’ve identified that fit the same pattern – names I believe could reasonably 10X over the next one to two years as this AI buildout accelerates.

Inside my latest briefing, I reveal the first company on that shortlist, explain why I believe it could soar 10x, and walk you through the exact government signals I’m watching for a confirmed deal.

With Washington pumping billions into the AI supply chain… new federal stakes and contracts being announced regularly… and most investors still asleep at the wheel…

This is your moment.

The backdoor is wide open – all you have to do is step through it.

Sincerely,

Luke Lango

Editor, Innovation Investor