The United States handed a 15-point peace plan to Iran, and the Iranian military asked: Are you negotiating with yourselves? On the same day, AI was officially welded into the U.S. war machine.
1| U.S. Presents Surrender List, Iran Says You're Negotiating With Yourselves
Pakistan delivered the U.S.-drafted 15-point peace plan to Tehran. After the plan was disclosed by The Wall Street Journal, Brent crude oil once fell below $100, and Asian stock markets collectively rose. However, the optimism did not last a full trading session.
All 15 points target Iran's core strategic assets. Dismantle three nuclear facilities, stop uranium enrichment, suspend the missile program, reduce support for regional allies, and fully open the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange is the lifting of sanctions and civilian nuclear energy aid. This is not a negotiation offer; it's a list of surrender terms.
Iranian military spokesman Zolfaghari sneered: You are negotiating with yourselves. The ambassador to Pakistan confirmed there have been no negotiations to date. But on the same day, Tehran announced it would allow 'non-hostile' ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, releasing a slight signal of easing while refusing to negotiate. The IEA confirmed the Hormuz crisis has caused a global production cut of about 8 million barrels per day. Goldman Sachs on the same day raised its U.S. recession probability to 30%, forecasting a Brent average price of $115 for April.
(Sources: Al Jazeera / Time / France 24 / WSJ / Goldman Sachs / IEA)
2| Golden Dome $185 Billion: AI Welded into the War Machine
The morning report covered the Pentagon blacklisting Anthropic and, on the same day, giving Palantir a 28-fold budget increase. The evening's news pushes this thread to a new stage. (Continuing the morning report)
Anduril and Palantir are jointly developing the core software for the Golden Dome missile defense system. The project budget is $185 billion, with an additional $10 billion added last week. The software connects radar, satellite, and sensor networks to detect ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles in real-time, while also controlling intercept weapons. SpaceX is responsible for the space-based components. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman have already secured contractor positions.
Palantir CTO Sankar said on Bloomberg Television that the Iran war will be looked back upon as the first large-scale conflict driven by AI. The Maven system completed target identification and plan generation for 2,000 strikes within 48 hours, fusing satellite, drone, radar, and signals intelligence, semi-autonomously generating legal justifications for each strike. AI is no longer an auxiliary tool; it is the infrastructure itself.
(Sources: Reuters / WSJ / Bloomberg / Democracy Now / MIT Technology Review)
3| China Bet On as the 'Big Winner' in the AI Race
Jensen Huang last week called OpenClaw the 'next ChatGPT' in a CNBC interview. Within hours of the news reaching Hong Kong, MiniMax and Zhipu AI stock prices rose over 20%.
Fortune provided structural numbers. By 2030, China will have about 400 gigawatts of idle power capacity, three times the global data center demand. Electricity prices in western provinces are as low as 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 40 cents in some U.S. regions. Electricity accounts for about 35% of inference costs; with equivalent computing power, China's operating costs are less than one-eighth of those in the U.S. Jefferies strategists are reducing exposure to U.S. tech stocks, citing the power advantage as one reason.
(Sources: Fortune/ Bloomberg / CNBC / 36Kr)
4| SpaceX May File IPO Application This Week, Valuation $1.75 Trillion
The Information reported that SpaceX could file its IPO prospectus with U.S. regulators as early as this week. If true, this would be the largest IPO in human history. The goal is to raise over $75 billion, more than double the $29.4 billion record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. The listing valuation could exceed $1.75 trillion, with a tentative public listing date in June.
This is not just a rocket company going public. In February 2026, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI company xAI in an all-stock transaction, with a combined valuation of about $1.25 trillion. IPO investors are buying not just Starlink and Falcon 9, but also the Grok large model and xAI's computing clusters. Retail investors may receive over 20% of the share allocation.
In the same week that Arm is developing its own chips and OpenAI is preparing for a transformative listing, SpaceX chose this moment to file. Upstream players in the AI industry are collectively rushing into the public market, aiming to lock in valuation windows before the Iran war and recession expectations worsen further.
(Sources: The Information / Bloomberg)
Also Worth Knowing ↓
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said at the Hill & Valley Forum, 'We have become Europe.' He criticized the rigidity of the U.S. defense procurement and budget system, saying Congressional intervention and compliance procedures prevent the War Department from adjusting flexibly. Simultaneously, he expressed rare positive views on the Iran war, believing Gulf states now realize 'you can't let your neighbor fire ballistic missiles at data centers,' which actually increases the chance of permanent peace. (Sources: Fortune / CNBC)
An Axios investigation found a 'suspicious trading pattern' trending around Trump's major decisions. Abnormal trading behavior appeared hours before every major market shock. The $580 million futures trade mentioned in the morning report is just the latest example; while ordinary Americans suffer from soaring oil prices, a few seem to profit in broad daylight. (Source: Axios)
Ben Thompson of Stratechery published an S-tier analysis, deeply dissecting Arm's motives and constraints for developing its own chips. This is the most authoritative supplement to the morning report on the Arm event; Thompson believes Arm's choice stems from a systemic evolution of computing architecture, not simple competitive strategy. (Source: Stratechery)(Continuing the morning report)
Amazon acquired the startup Fauna Robotics, which makes child-sized humanoid robots, its second robotics acquisition this month. On the same day, Google announced a collaboration with Agile Robots to expand its AI robotics layout, accelerating the arms race in embodied intelligence among major tech companies. (Sources: TechCrunch / CNBC)
A New Mexico jury reached the first trial verdict in a child safety case against Meta; the amount is not the focus, the precedent is. This is the first time in U.S. history a jury has ruled against Meta in such a case, and multiple states across the U.S. are watching this precedent. (Source: TechCrunch)
Apple is testing a standalone Siri app and a new 'Ask Siri' feature, planned for release with iOS 27 at WWDC on June 8. Siri will get a new chatbot-like interface, representing Apple's biggest reboot attempt in its AI strategy. (Sources: 36Kr / Bloomberg)
Block's CFO said massive layoffs caused by AI are 'inevitable' for businesses. Following four billionaires speaking out on the same day in the morning report, another industry executive used the word 'inevitability'; the AI employment narrative is sliding from prediction into consensus. (Source: WSJ)
